Head Wines Ancestor Vine Grenache 2020

Great colour – purple meets ruby. Ultra juicy purple fruit on the palate too. Joyous purple fruit, which is great given the tricky season. Great flesh, a real expanse of flavour, tending just a smidgen warming to finish, but that’s the trade-off for the sheer width of fruit. Then, late in the piece, it gets darker. More mysterious. A bit dry and darker, with late, typically fine grain sandpaper tannins. Superstar vibrancy here, with the glycerol fruit juiciness for mass appeal, with the sexy time structure to keep wine writers happy. A winner. Points: 95/100

ozwinereview.com ∙ 30th Sep 2022

The 163yo Stonegarden vineyard near Springton is one of the treasures of the Eden Valley. Experiencing a wine made from these ancestor vines is an exercise in texture, restraint and grace. Vivid plum and red fruits cut with exotic spice, fennel tops, ginger cake, cola and purple flowers. Just beautiful drinking: a wine that is very composed and comfortable in its own skin. Savoury and fine. Points: 96/100

James Halliday Wine Companion 2023 ∙ 3rd Aug 2022

Deep and bright red with purple tinges, smoky and ironstone aromas overlying sweet black fruits and a hint of tar; the palate is medium-full bodied, fleshy and rounded, with richness as well as elegance, the flavour of dark cherries and bitter herbs, nicely balanced throughout. The silken texture is a highlight. A delicious grenache. Points: 96/100

The Real Review ∙ 11th Jun 2022

Dark red fruit, raspberry coulis, pimento, rose and milk chocolate, a subtle mint to note. Medium-bodied, stony feel to it and cool acidity, quite the ‘mineral’ thing to it, with fine-grained silky tannin, and a long fresh finish, maybe a little blood orange in the aftertaste, It’s very stylish and composed. Excellent. Points: 95/100

The Wine Front ∙ 10th Jun 2022

The 163yo Stonegarden vineyard near Springton is one of the treasures of the Eden Valley. Experiencing a wine made from these ancestor vines is an exercise in texture, restraint and grace. Vivid plum and red fruits cut with exotic spice, fennel tops, ginger cake, cola and purple flowers. Just beautiful drinking: a wine that is very composed and comfortable in its own skin. Savoury and fine. Points: 96/100

Halliday Wine Companion ∙ 16th May 2022

Classified “Ancestor” under the Barossa Old Vine Charter for vines more than 125 years old, Alex Head’s allocation from the Stonegarden vineyard has produced an absolute stunner. There are very few wines that actually stop you in your tracks at first sniff – this is one of them. The fragrance is so heady (forgive the pun) and attractive: crimson rose petals, orange zest, summer orchards with all their sun-kissed leaf, flower and earth aromas alive and vibrant. Intense is the wrong word: this is more about sublimity. When tasting, it’s a cherry Danish pastry right there in your face, soft, luxurious, a tidal swell of flavour before its fine, chalk dust tannins carry the wine into a confident, yet gentle and delicious coda – an extended conclusion to a truly superb icon-status wine from a very special place.

In Review ∙ 4th Apr 2022

This is a parcel from the Stonegarden Vineyard in the Eden Valley and offers a cooler, blue-fruit tone on the nose with blueberries and plums, as well as cassis and violet-like florals. The palate brings a spicy thread into play, amid fresh, long and crunchy raspberry and red-plum flavors. Holds an unwavering line. Drink or hold. Points: 94/100

jamessuckling.com ∙ 8th Jun 2021