Grosset Wines – Clare Valley, South Australia

2008 Vintage

Grosset GaiaGrosset Gaia

“Gaia is one of the most astonishing vineyards you’ll see. Planted at 570 metres, at the highest point of the Clare Valley, the vineyard is an elongated triangular wedge of emerald green that sits above the rolling golden cornfields of the Clare Valley. Named after James Lovelock’s books, Gaia is a metaphor for the importance of the diversity and complexity of species.”

Extracted from ‘The Red Revolution’ by Anthony Rose, The Independent (UK) November 2002. To read the full article, click here.

Grosset Gaia 2008

900 cases produced

Austerity, structure and densely packed fruit are hallmarks of the red blend produced from this site. While the 2008 is more approachable than many of the Grosset ‘Gaia’ on release, it still has many of the characteristics that make it a wine which deserves cellaring. It is a blend of cabernet sauvignon (75%), cabernet franc (20%) and merlot (5%) that is broodingly fragrant, has briary, brambley flavours that are powerful, concentrated and opulent. There’s a fleshy smoothness to the mid-palate and substantial, yet fine, tannins on a finish of considerable power.

Grosset Gaia is produced from vines that are pruned, trained and harvested by hand. The wine is matured exclusively in French oak barriques, fifty percent of which are new, then bottled and allowed to settle for a further twelve months before release. As with every Grosset release for more than a decade, this wine has no added tannin and has not been fined.

Cellaring Guide: Cellar 4-15 years but can be enjoyed now.

The 2008 Grosset Gaia was released 1 March 2011

 

Reviews:

Huon Hooke  Gourmet Traveller WINE August/September 2011 – 94 points starstarstarstarstar
This blend of cab sav and cab franc really responded to airing… A wine of great elegance and intensity, tight structure and firm backbone, with penetration and length.

James Halliday  Australian Wine Companion 2012 27July 2011 – rating 94

An estate-grown blend of Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc/Merlot with a fragrant, almost flowery, bouquet; the accent on fresh fruit remains the central theme of the bouquet and palate alike. Easily evaded the heat bullet of ’08.