Granjoux Shiraz 2021

The Granjoux vineyard is the passion project of Peter Bartholomew and Donna Pelka, inspired by the research and ongoing input of legendary viticulturist Mark Walpole. Situated on the Beechworth Gorge, the relatively steep site had been planted in the 1860s, with the only remnants of that occupation the durable dry-stone walls and ruin of a winery. Armed with historical records, the trio embarked on both honouring the history and fine-tuning the methods to densely plant an individually staked vineyard that is in part inspired by the vineyards of the Northern Rhône, for both viticulture and varieties, but also committed to the regional star, chardonnay.

The vineyard site certainly has some history, though its break in operations has been vast, with it originally planted in the early 1860s by Frenchman Ambrose Granjoux (his surname is variously spelled in historical records). He produced wine from those vines, as evidenced in a 1865 newspaper advertisement that listed chasselas, riesling, carignan, malbec, tokay and muscat for sale, but he also had plantings of scyras (shiraz/syrah – the misspelling originates from the original cataloguing of the Busby Collection) and made something called ‘Colonial Claret’, likely a multi-pronged blend. 

The densely staked vines on a meaningful slope reminded Walpole very much of the vineyards of the Northern Rhône, as did the soils, comprising decomposed granite, clay and slate. That, and the local history, made shiraz an easy choice, along with a seasoning of viognier for blending purposes, with the Beechworth hero grape of chardonnay also planted to make two micro-production ultra-premium wines (made by Walpole and Adrian Rodda), with the first vintage, 2021, to be released in April 2023.