2022 John Duval Wines Grenache Concilio Barossa 750 ml

Aussie winemakers call them “survivor vines.”

Bushy, gnarled, and at least 70 years of age, they’re low-yielding and hard to farm—and by any economic rationale they should have been ripped out decades ago. But through the years, every time the balance sheets pointed one direction, winemakers pointed the other. The fruit these vines provided was too irreplaceable: too concentrated, too intense, and too full of personality.

That’s doubly true for old Grenache vines. The main grape of Châteauneuf-du-Pape was once widely planted across the Barossa Valley, where it thrives in the ancient soils and heat. But once Shiraz became the region’s calling card, most of the vines were ripped out.

Only the best Grenache vines remained, making old-vine Barossa Grenache one of the surest bets—and greatest values—in the world of wine. And coming from a legendary winemaker like John Duval, the result is a bottling that rivals Rhône bottles that cost twice as much.

For nearly two decades, the Aussie native John Duval was the guiding hand behind Penfolds Grange—without a doubt one of the greatest wines in the world—and in his time there he acquired something money can’t buy. He gained an intimate knowledge of Australia’s old vines, and he has cultivated the relationships needed to get his hands on their sweet black bunches.

In 2003, he left Penfolds to focus on his own small-production wines, and he didn’t miss a beat.

Going out on his own was a homecoming of sorts because Duval’s family had been farming and growing grapes in Barossa since the 19th century, even supplying—drumroll, please—his former employer, Penfolds. 

This stunner is both rare and easy to drink—cherish it while you’ve got it.