Penny’s Hill reigns supreme at James Halliday Grenache Challenge

Penny’s Hill chief winemaker Alexia Roberts. Photo: Ben Macmahon, Macmahon Images

The Penny’s Hill 2023 Single Vineyard Grenache received the highest accolade in the eighth annual James Halliday Grenache Challenge, judged in McLaren Vale on 15 October. The impressive panel of judges assessed 137 single-varietal Grenache wines from around Australia, celebrating the growing strength and incredible diversity of the variety.

The 2024 Challenge saw McLaren Vale Grenache reign supreme, with the four highest-ranked wines and eight of the top ten wines all hailing from the region. Notably, another Penny’s Hill Grenache followed closely for the top spot with the Penny’s Hill 2024 The Abstracts Grenache ranking at number four in the Challenge.

For chair of judges Andrew Thomas, the Penny’s Hill 2023 Single Vineyard Grenache “stood out like a beacon within its class”, and Thomas added that for the wine to be selected as the James Halliday Grenache Challenge winner was “testament to both detailed winemaking and a pedigree vineyard site”.

“The wine displayed impressively vibrant red cherry fruit, delicate florals and a subtle whole bunch complexity, together with a sweet fruited yet savoury texture, crunchy acidity and chalky tannin structure,” said Thomas. “This is benchmark Grenache indeed.”

*Chief winemaker at Penny’s Hill, Alexia Roberts. Photo: Ben Macmahon, Macmahon Images*

Penny’s Hill chief winemaker Alexia Roberts was overjoyed, heralding the win as “an outstanding achievement” for the team at Penny’s Hill.

“[The win] showcases our incredible Blewitt Springs vineyard site, meticulous winemaking approach, and our passion to produce world-class wines. We consider ourselves lucky to have access to some of the region’s most iconic vineyards and are proud to see McLaren Vale leading the way with Grenache,” said Roberts.

This national recognition follows closely on the heels of Penny’s Hill’s triumph at the 2024 McLaren Vale Wine Show, where the 2023 Single Vineyard Grenache was awarded Best Wine of Show, and chief winemaker Alexia Roberts was crowned the 2024 McLaren Vale Bushing Monarch alongside winemaker Paul Carpenter.

*The Penny’s Hill 2023 Single Vineyard Grenache. Photo: Ben Macmahon, Macmahon Images*

Hosted by the McLaren Vale Grape Wine & Tourism Association (MVGWTA) each October, the James Halliday Grenache Challenge benchmarks Grenache wines from across Australia, encouraging an honest gauge of the country’s Grenache winemaking form and tracking styles and movements developing across the industry.

The judging panel commented that the 2024 James Halliday Grenache Challenge was “an absolute pleasure to judge, with the diversity and stylistic evolution of Australian Grenache well and truly on display”.

“A wide range of styles were rewarded, with the top wines displaying quite compelling and vibrant fruit aromatics, with balanced tannin structures and a bright line of acidity,” said the panel.

“The judicial use of oak (or no oak), bunch inclusion and reduction also provided an extra layer of interest in some of the best wines. The quality of the recent 2022 and 2023 vintages is reflected in the results.”

The judges of the 2024 James Halliday Grenache Challenge were Andrew Thomas (chair of judges), Steven Paul, Pip Anderson, Toby Barlow, Lauren Hansen, Sam Watkins, Marcell Kustos, Jack Glover, Louis Schofield, Emma Jenkins, Ben Wilcox, Phillip Lord, Grace Wang, Amelia Anspach, Jackson Farrow, and Matt Pedder.

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