Grosset Gaia 2006

After a Gaia that was more approachable at a younger age from the 2005 vintage, it's back to the more austere, structured, densely packed red with which we are familiar in 2006. As usual, it's a wine that speaks loudly of its site - the rugged, austere moonscape of the Grosset Gaia vineyard on the slopes of a windswept hill close to Clare's highest point. The blend itself in the newly released vintage is cabernet sauvignon (75%), cabernet franc (20%) and merlot (5%) and is an outstanding wine: powerful, opulent, ultra-concentrated, ungiving at present but promising a great deal after careful cellaring. There's briary, blackcurrant flavours along with chalky, earthy, minerally characters all tightly coiled and balanced by ripe, fine-knit tannins patiently waiting for time to reveal all. There's complexity and elegance here, too: but only the patient will see it at its best.

Reviews

The Matthew Jukes 100 Best Australian Wines 2010

matthewjukes.com May 2010

Gaia is one of those wonderfully vintage dependant wines which can sometimes look belligerent and often a little too eclectic over people’s tastes in its youth. It is always a privilege to taste the wine from this incredibly special vineyard site and in 2006 Jeffrey has made an exceptionally finely-tuned and delicious (dare I say, crowd-pleasing) red wine – this is a flattering vintage, to be sure. All of the Gaia herbs and spices are there and none of the minerality is missing, but this time there is a plushness to the fruit which gives it an extra dimension of appeal.

James Halliday Australian Wine Companion 2010 Edition

95 points

Pristine colour; a complex and appealing mix of red and blackcurrant, black olive, a dash of herbs, and beautifully handled oak; the palate is surprisingly generous and open knit, but offers a long, fine, ample and seductive fine-grained tannin finish; beautiful balance, as befits the name.

Max Allen

The Weekend Australian Magazine June 13-14, 2009

Pinot noir may be sexier, shiraz may be more popular, but when the vintage is kind, good old cabernet sauvignon can produce some of the most brilliant red wines in Australia.

… and the simply stunning, slinky 2006 Grosset Gaia demonstrate how good the vintage was for cabernet, particularly in the Clare Valley.

Huon Hooke

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Gourmet Traveller Wine June/July 2009

94 points

Sweet ripe berry aromas jump out of the glass, very cabernet-like and elegant but also ripe and powerful. There’s a leanness to its profile; it’s fine-boned, gentlemanly, intensely flavoured and medium-to-full bodied.Very stylish wine.

Ray Jordan
West Weekend Magazine, West Australian 25 April 2009
Living Legends 96/100
Stunning three-blend red from this very good South Australian vintage. Grosset has nailed it, producing a wine of extraordinary polish, elegance and style, yet immensely powerful and effortlessly long. Wonderful oak treatment, with ripe tannins and opulent fruit contributing to a silky-smooth palate. Top drawer stuff.