Little Giant Free Grenache

I love a good Grenache, and I love McLaren Vale. Put them together in a wine and you’ve got me hooked. So when I was sent the Little Giant Free Grenache to try I was so excited to pop it open (I say pop because it has a cork – unusual for Aussie wine). The label also got me good – I mean it is just so cute! This Grenache is part of a natural and organic makeover for Little Giant. It’s the result of a collaboration between McLaren Vale winemaker Mike Brown and Corey Ryan of Little Giant with wines sourced from a single estate vineyard in McLaren Vale.

Why I love the Little Giant Free Grenache

The Little Giant Free Grenache uses grapes from an organic and biodynamic vineyard. The wine was fermented in stainless steel but matured in large format French and American oak barrels to build out the structure and complexity of the wine.

This grenache is seriously delicious and the kind of wine you can enjoy now. There’s no need to wait to pop this open with friends over a good meal. I love wines that you don’t need to overthink about or have a special occasion to enjoy it. Just pop it open and have good wine!

So now onto the wine tasting notes. What I liked about the Little Giant Free Grenache is that from its appearance it looks like it’s going to be light. It is translucent with a really light garnet colour. But this wine is deceptive with its colour as it is actually 14.5% ABV. You’d think then that it would be heavy, but I found it had a lovely medium weight. So it sits in the middle of what you might expect.

On the nose, this wine is packed full of raspberry with a hint of savoury spice. This follows through to the palate which has a lovely play between the juicy red fruits upfront, the complexity of earthy spice and a lovely crisp finish. It reminds me of a Pinot Noir but with a bit more oomph! I love the complexity in this wine that was nicely balanced into a really tasty drinking wine. It’s simply delicious.

About Little Giant

Little Giant is from South Australia and is recognisable from its short, stumpy bottles which I think are quite cute. Their labels always include the southern hairy-nosed Wombat that roams South Australia.

Little Giant is crafted from premium regional South Australian fruit from established vineyards. Their wines aim to deliver character and interest above their size and weight. Their new lo-fi winemaking range is wines that are fresh, drinkable and food-friendly.

Find out more by visiting their website.

Note: this wine was sent to me as a sample. I was under no obligation to post about it.