2023 S.C. Pannell Little Branch Grenache | 97 Halliday | 97 Wine Advocate

🏆 97 Points | One of Australia's Most Exciting Single-Vineyard Grenaches

From Steve Pannell's Own Little Branch Vineyard in Blewitt Springs

One of McLaren Vale's New Grenache Superstars

97 Points – Halliday Wine Companion | 97 Points – The Wine Advocate | 96 Points – The Wine Front | 96 Points – JamesSuckling.com

Blewitt Springs, McLaren Vale, South Australia

97 Points – Halliday Wine Companion

97 Points – The Wine Advocate

96 Points – The Wine Front

96 Points – JamesSuckling.com

RRP $80

There are few Australian winemakers more closely associated with the modern Grenache revolution than Steve Pannell.

And Little Branch may well be one of the most exciting Grenaches he has ever produced.

This comes from Pannell's own vineyard in Blewitt Springs, one of the great places for Grenache in McLaren Vale.

The vines are more than 30 years old, planted into the ancient Maslin Sands of Blewitt Springs, peppered with ironstone.

The 2023 is only the second release of Little Branch.

And what a wine it is.

97 POINTS – HALLIDAY WINE COMPANION

97 POINTS – THE WINE ADVOCATE

96 POINTS – THE WINE FRONT

96 POINTS – JAMES SUCKLING

Four major critics.

Four outstanding scores.

And a wine that already looks destined to become one of the benchmark single-vineyard Grenaches of McLaren Vale.

Tasting Notes

This is Grenache built around perfume, purity, texture and extraordinary finesse rather than sheer weight.

Expect:

• Wild raspberry and dried strawberry
• Sour cherry and cranberry
• Blood orange and citrus peel
• Pressed rose and violets
• Cinnamon and exotic spice
• Dried herbs
• Musk and subtle earth
• Fine, sandy mineral tannins

There's beautiful fruit succulence through the middle of the palate, but what really separates this wine is the texture.

The tannins are incredibly fine, expansive and savoury, giving the wine structure without heaviness.

Bright acidity brings energy and tension.

And that explosive Grenache perfume follows everything through an exceptionally long finish.

Perfumed. Pure. Precise. Savoury.

Seriously beautiful Grenache.

Critical Acclaim

97 Points – Halliday Wine Companion

97 Points – The Wine Advocate

96 Points – The Wine Front

96 Points – JamesSuckling.com

About Little Branch Vineyard

The story behind Little Branch makes this wine even more exciting.

Steve Pannell had been searching for the right vineyard site for years before acquiring this property in Blewitt Springs.

And it's easy to understand why he wanted it.

The Grenache vines are more than 30 years old, growing in the deep, ancient Maslin Sands for which Blewitt Springs has become famous, with ironstone scattered through the vineyard.

These sandy soils and the cooler conditions of Blewitt Springs help produce a completely different expression of McLaren Vale Grenache.

Less about massive fruit.

More about:

Perfume.

Freshness.

Fine tannins.

Transparency.

Minerality.

Site.

The 2023 fruit was fermented in steel with 14% whole bunches, before being matured in an old 2,800-litre French oak vat.

The oak isn't there to flavour the wine.

It's there to allow the vineyard to speak.

And that's exactly what happens.

Steve Pannell & Grenache

Steve Pannell has been one of the major figures behind the extraordinary transformation of Australian Grenache.

Rather than treating Grenache as a source of big, ripe, high-alcohol reds, Pannell has helped demonstrate just how perfumed, detailed, savoury and site-specific the variety can be in McLaren Vale.

And Little Branch takes that philosophy even further.

This is no longer simply:

McLaren Vale Grenache.

It's:

LITTLE BRANCH GRENACHE.

A wine defined by a specific vineyard.

A specific soil.

A specific place.

That's where Australian Grenache is heading.

And this is one of the wines leading the way.

Food Pairings

Beautiful with:

• Roast duck
• Chargrilled lamb
• Porchetta
• Slow-roasted pork
• Moroccan-spiced lamb
• Mushroom dishes
• Charcuterie
• Wood-fired pizza
• Hard cheeses

It's also a wine I'd happily serve slightly cool.

Give it 20–30 minutes in the fridge and watch that perfume explode from the glass.

Cellaring

This is already extraordinarily seductive, but it has the structure and balance to develop beautifully.

Drink now through 2035+

Young, expect its raspberry, cherry, cranberry, rose, blood orange and exotic spice characters to dominate.

With bottle age, expect more dried flowers, savoury herbs, earth, leather and complex spice to emerge.

But don't feel guilty opening it now.

It's far too delicious.

Why We Love It

Because this represents exactly why McLaren Vale Grenache is one of the most exciting categories in Australian wine right now.

It's not big.

It's not heavy.

It's not sweet and jammy.

Instead, it's:

Perfumed.

Fine.

Savoury.

Mineral.

Transparent.

Beautifully structured.

And the critics are virtually unanimous:

97 HALLIDAY

97 WINE ADVOCATE

96 THE WINE FRONT

96 JAMES SUCKLING

From Steve Pannell's own vineyard in Blewitt Springs.

More than 30-year-old Grenache vines.

Ancient Maslin Sands.

Only the second release.

This isn't simply another great McLaren Vale Grenache.

Little Branch has all the ingredients to become one of Australia's great Grenache labels.

👉 If you love the new generation of Australian Grenache, the 2023 S.C. Pannell Little Branch belongs in your cellar. Secure your bottles while available.