Cirillo Vertical

Marco Cirillo typifies the sort of person I like to see making wine in Australia at the moment. Equal parts opinionated and generous with honesty & integrity being key to his apporoach to vinous matters & life in general. He’s one of those producers who wants your opinion, not just vacant flattery. Mind you, he won’t hesitate to ask you to substantiate it.  I suspect these qualities play a part in the high quality of his wines.

At a recent tasting, Marco put four vintages of his Cirillo 1850 Old Vines Grenache up against some very good Châteauneuf-du-Papes; wines that formed part of the inspiration for his own interpretation of the variety.  The wines, in order of serving, were as follows-

2007 Domaine Charvin
2006 Domain de Pegau
2006 Château Rayas
2003 Cirillo Estate 1850 Grenache
2004 Cirillo Estate 1850 Grenache
2005 Cirillo Estate 1850 Grenache
2006 Cirillo Estate 1850 Grenache

The first and most general observation I can make is that you could see how the Châteauneufs had influenced Marco’s work.  There was a serious quality to all these wines that stood a mile apart from the many lolly like and insipid Grenaches that Australia has produced; a soft, layered, depth and a savoury complexity.  But this was no exercise in mimicry.  The Cirillos also exhibited more power and fruit than their French counterparts, as could be expected coming from the Barossa.  Indeed, Marco pointed out that he was not trying to obscure Barossa characters.  “My aim is to make Grenache that tastes like Grenache, not like Shiraz,” and in that comment lay what I think is the crucial to his ability to extract the best from his approximately 160 year old vineyard.

Not one of the 1850s displayed heavy handed use of oak, and acidity was the primary structural tool.  The 2003 was delicate and becoming very silken already, with the acidity integrating beautifully.  Marco was of the opinion that this would be the shortest lived of his wines on offer that evening.  He still thinks it will go around 20 years, and I don’t have any real doubt of that myself. The 2004 had lots going for it and the spearmint was less prominent than when I’d last tasted it. 2005 produced a richer, fuller and more brutish wine, one that Cirillo referred to as “A showbull in a china shop”.  It was still a superb wine and with time it should develop extra nuance and finesse.  I took it that the winemaker was interested in letting the vintage express itself through his work rather than trying to fight what was offered.  In 2006 he crafted what I considered to be the best of the bunch, a balanced wine full of unexpected delights and complexities and already hinting at the silky texture that will become a feature as it ages.  2004-2006 should all last 20 or more years in his opinion.

The Châteauneufs were intelligently chosen, and illuminated the Cirillo Grenache rather than overshadowing it. A lovely 07 Charvin displayed a clean profile that is apparently where the region is heading, as opposed to the 06 Domain de Pegau which was full of character and barnyard funk; appealing enough for me to enjoy right now, but not worthy of its price tag and not about to get any better.  As expected the 2006 Château Rayas was stunning, emphasising character, layers, suppleness and length but with none of the dirtier apect of the de Pegau. Stylistically, I felt the Cirillos occupied the territory between the Charvin and the Rayas.  The Rayas was at a level of quality where I think that the idea of value is somewhat lost.  But as someone who cannot afford much wine over $300, the Cirillos offer a great alternative and superb value at around $50.

The whole tasting was a good example of how Grenache in this country, when sourced from the right place, interpreted sensitively & with considered intent can stand proudly amongst the best offerings from France, all the while offering something distinctive and unique; something undeniably Australian.