James Halliday Grenache Challenge
Celebrating the expression of Australian Grenache.
A competitive, Australian-wide, tasting of single-variety Grenache wines.
The James Halliday Grenache Challenge gathers single-variety Grenache wines from around Australia for a competitive tasting to celebrate and elevate the variety.
The James Halliday Grenache Challenge is open to all producers from all regions, to gauge the diversity of Grenache expression and winemaking from across Australia, and track winemaking styles and movements developing across Australia.
The McLaren Vale Wine Region is proud to host the James Halliday Grenache Challenge in October each year.
Producer information:
Grenache Challenge entry details and key dates
McLaren Vale's Penny's Hill wins the 2024 James Halliday Grenache Challenge!
The Penny’s Hill 2023 Single Vineyard Grenache received the highest accolade in the eighth annual James Halliday Grenache Challenge.
From 137 entries submitted from across Australia, the Penny's Hill 2023 Single Vineyard Grenache was selected as the Best Grenache by an impressive panel of judges including Andrew Thomas (Chair of Judges), Steven Paul, Pip Anderson, Toby Barlow, Lauren Hansen, Sam Watkins, Marcell Kustos, Jack Glover, Louis Schofield, Emma Jenkins, Ben Wilcox, Phillip Lord, Grace Wang, Amelia Anspach, Jackson Farrow, Matt Pedder.
For Chair of Judges Andrew Thomas, the Penny’s Hill 2023 Single Vineyard Grenache “stood out like a beacon within its class, and to ultimately be chosen as the James Halliday Grenache Challenge winner is testament to both detailed winemaking and a pedigree vineyard site. The wine displayed impressively vibrant red cherry fruit, delicate florals and a subtle whole bunch complexity, together with a sweet fruited yet savoury texture, crunchy acidity and chalky tannin structure. This is benchmark Grenache indeed.”
This national recognition follows closely on the heels of Penny’s Hill’s triumph at the 2024 McLaren Vale Wine Show, where its 2023 Single Vineyard Grenache was awarded Best Wine of Show, and Chief Winemaker Alexia Roberts was crowned the 2024 McLaren Vale Bushing Monarch. This back-to-back success underscores the winery's exceptional craftsmanship and solidifies its reputation as a leading producer of premium Grenache.
The 2024 James Halliday Grenache Challenge (JHGC) gathered varietal Grenache wines from across Australia, encouraging an honest gauge of our country's Grenache winemaking form and recognising styles and movements developing across the industry.
The 2024 judging panel commented that the Grenache Challenge was “An absolute pleasure to judge, with the diversity and stylistic evolution of Australian Grenache well and truly on display. A wide range of styles were rewarded, with the top wines displaying quite compelling and vibrant fruit aromatics, with balanced tannin structures and a bright line of acidity. The judicial use of oak (or no oak), bunch inclusion and reduction also provided an extra layer of interest in some of the best wines. The quality of the recent 2022 and 2023 vintages is reflected in the results.
The Challenge received 137 Grenache entries across a diverse range of Australian wine regions.
The 2023 James Halliday Grenache Challenge (JHGC) gathered varietal Grenache wines from around Australia for a competitive tasting to celebrate and elevate the variety.
2023 Grenache Challenge Chair of Judges, James Halliday was impressed by the finesse of the medal-winning wines.
"The makers of Grenache responded jubilantly to the quality of the ’21, ’22 and ’23 growing seasons. There is a pattern of finesse, purity and intensity in the medal-winning wines, the best simply beautiful." said Mr Halliday.
The Challenge received 153 Grenache entries across a diverse range of Australian wine regions.
View the full list of results for the 2022 James Halliday Grenache Challenge here.
The fifth annual James Halliday Grenache Challenge (JHGC) gathered varietal grenache wines from around Australia for a competitive tasting to celebrate and elevate the variety.
The Challenge invited producers from all Australian wine regions to participate, encouraging an honest gauge of Australia’s winemaking form and to catch the styles and movements developing across the landscape.
Barossa's Krondorf Wines has been named 2021 James Halliday Grenache Challenge winner for its 2020 Founders View Barossa Grenache.
2021 McLaren Vale Wine Show Chair of Judges, Tony Love was impressed with the diversity of grenache expression.
“The 2021 James Halliday Grenache Challenge was a showcase of one of the country's most loved wine varieties at the height of its powers," said Mr Love.
"A highlight of the Challenge was to witness the diversity of Grenache expression, from juicy, lighter, easy drinking styles to bolder and more robust iterations. All variations are, of course, legitimate, while the finest of the entries created plenty of enthusiastic interest from all three panels of judges.
"After a rigorous day of assessment, the winner emerged from the highest quality selection of finalists after displaying attractive varietal aromatic characters with a sense of power, yet elegantly controlled and balanced. A superb example of South Australian Grenache."
The Challenge received a record 146 Grenache entries across a diverse range of Australian winegrowing regions.
Renowned wine critic and writer, James Halliday AM highlights McLaren Vale and the Barossa as champion grenache producing regions.
"Grenache has come in from the cold in no uncertain fashion. One statistic speaks louder than words. In 2010 the average price per tonne was $575; this year (2021) it averaged $1256 per tonne. Its geographic spread has also increased, but two regions dominate: the Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale in a multitude of styles. It’s also exciting to see 2021 wines starting to appear, with more to come," said Mr Halliday.
Please click here for the full results.