Vinya Vella is the very personal project of Dylan Griggs, one of Australia’s foremost viticulturists. A tiny vineyard, just 6 hectares of mostly grenache planted on the eastern slopes of the Barossa Valley, just below the upper reaches of the Eden Valley. No doubt the elevation and sandy soils of the area contribute to Vinya Vella’s lifted aromatic profile, whilst the wines tend to maintain the rich burliness of the Barossa. Mostly old vines, a touch over 4 hectares, planted in the late 1880s, with the remainder more recent plantings.
Dylan continues to work throughout Australia, consulting to some of the country’s most revered producers. The name Vinya Vella means old vineyard in Catalan, a nod to the years he and his family spent in Spain and Catalunya seeking the ‘eternal carnival by the sea’ as F Scott Fitzgerald imperishably phrased it. The Barossa Valley is in Dylan’s DNA, his family originally settling there in the 1840’s. But evolution only comes from the altering of one’s DNA, the being in other places equally magical, leaving their mark.
And so the wines of Vinya Vella (there are only two, a Grenache and Grenache rose) are of their place, and yet with the stirrings, textures and scents of distant adventures. Site expression should be more than simple taste. It is the culmination of a million experiences, aspirations, influence, the “always roaming with a hungry heart”. Rich aromatics, perfectly ripe fruit, tertiary notes of spices, earth and flowers, fullish body and long loosened tannins. This is real Grenache. Not like Syrah, not like Pinot; embracing the scorching sun, dream crushing soils and the life piled on life of its maker.
Tasted alongside the superb, burly 2021, the differences of vintage plain to see. Beautiful aromas, indeed, more lifted than the 21 with sweet and savoury spices, lavender, violets and a compote of sweet and tangy red, black and briary fruits. Medium to full boded with a lovely poised silken flow, the whole bunch tannin guiding the rich flavours and lengthening the palate. More linear and precise than the previous vintage, finer wine to be sure, the weave of tannins tighter and more gripping. Beautiful, succulent grenache, so rich in texture and flavour, with a whiff of otherness exoticism. Waters Wine Co
Vinya Vella Grenache Rose 2023
Something of Corsica here, with its contrast of dryness, savoriness and sweet red fruits. A rose of presence with discreet aromatics of raspberry, cherry, redcurrants and Middle Eastern spice. There is a great textural presence, woven with tangy fruit, the grapes picked earlier it would seem than the grenache for vivid freshness. Very refreshing and long, the subtle use of tannins lengthening the palate and contributing to the sense of moreish-ness. Waters Wine Co
