Grosset, ‘Gaia’ Clare Valley Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc

Origin

Planted at an elevation of 570 metres, the Gaia vineyard is the highest vineyard in the Clare Valley. Consisting of two hectares of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, this strikingly beautiful site is extremely challenging and requires careful management. Hard red rock predominates, and the rocky outcrops that break through the earth prevent inter-row cropping and weed control through tillage. Instead, seed is broadcast by hand and grasses and clovers encouraged to regenerate.

Producer

Through meticulous vineyard management and decades of experience, Jeffrey Grosset’s wines keep getting better. In the words of Campbell Mattinson in the Halliday Wine Companion, “Grosset has been a star producer for all the time I’ve been in wine, but right now its wines are as good or better than they’ve ever been.”

Jeffrey’s love of Riesling began at 15 when his father came home with a bottle to share with the family. This bottle was enough to inspire a young Jeffrey to enrol in the local agricultural college and complete qualifications in both Agriculture and Oenology by the age of 21. After honing his craft in Australia and Germany, he bought an old milk depot in the Clare Valley town of Auburn, founding his eponymous winery in 1981. Since then, this old milk depot has been transformed into one of Australia’s finest wineries.

Hand-tended and certified organic and biodynamic, the Grosset vineyards are farmed sustainably. In the winery, each process is gentle and uncomplicated. No fining agents are used, and sulphur is the only addition. By combining a disciplined approach in the vineyard and a delicate touch in the winery, Grosset consistently achieves the purest expression of variety and place. Indeed, his pure and precise Chardonnay and Pinot Noir reflect the single sites in the ultra-cool Piccadilly Valley, from where Jeffrey has sourced these grapes for the past 25 years.

‘Gaia’ remains one of Australia’s best Cabernet blends, made with Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon from the isolated, windswept ‘Gaia’ vineyard he planted at the highest point of the Clare Valley in 1986. Grosset may be synonymous with Riesling, but the complexity and elegance of ‘Gaia’ demonstrate why Grosset reds are world-class and worthy of greater attention.

Grape Variety

85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc

Alcohol Percentage

14%

In the Press

Jancis Robinson MW awards this wine a score of 16.5+