Stephen Pannell has twice won Australia’s most prestigious wine award, the Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy – most recently in 2014 for his 2013 Adelaide Hills Syrah – and his reputation is further hinted at by his being named one of the 50 most influential contributors to the world of wine by Decanter Magazine.
In 2014, Steve won his second Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy and further cemented his relationship with the great grapegrowing region that is South Australia by setting up a cellar door in the heart of McLaren Vale. His local legend status has been confirmed again and again, winning the Bushing Trophy for best red wine of show in McLaren Vale no less than four times: 2011, 2015, 2016 and 2018.
"Grenache is the most difficult variety I work with, and that challenge makes it the most rewarding. This year's finish line is in sight and by the time this reaches intended recipients our Adelaide Hills Protero Nebbiolo will have been harvested and vintage 2023 can be drawn to a close. The cooler years may well be more challenging for the mind than the warmer years, but the resulting wines will always rank amongst my favourites." Steve Pannell
"Very lithe and fine, pure and frisky, sheathed in silty tannin, juicy in a way and with weight set to medium or just under. Succulent red cherry, brick-ish dusty elements in woody spices and twiggy, dried herbs, a faint fennel note, salted liquorice faintly there. Fragrant too, oh so very much. Savoury scents through with just ripe cherry underlying. That tension is so appealing and refreshing. Compelling drinking." 96pts | Mike Bennie | The Wine Front
"The 2021 Smart Grenache is very fine and bright with punctuating, pop rocky acid through the fruit. This is incredibly bright and exciting – the lingering spool of tannins and acid merge through the finish. There is pomegranate and raspberry pip, red licorice, fennel flower and a smattering of saffron. This is a fantastic, elongated wine that will age gracefully." 96pst | Erin Larkin | The Wine Advocate
"Really attractive ripe strawberry with orange peel aromas that follow through to a medium to full body with dusty tannins and plenty of lemon rind texture to the vivid fruits." 95pts | James Suckling
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