Reed 'Alexia' Grenache, Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia 2021

Winemakers: Sierra Reed

Farming: Biodynamic certified

Grapes: 100% Grenache

Terroir: Schliebs Family Farm is a biodynamically grown vineyard with 100-150 year old Grenache bush vines in the sandy Vine Vale subregion of the Barossa. 

Vinification: Hand-picked at dawn and driven across the border by Sierra herself for vinification in Geelong. Hand destemmed and sorted, followed by wild fermentation and élevage in large format neutral French oak for twelve months. 20ppm free sulfur.

Tasting Notes: Light garnet color in the glass. Aromas of rose petal, riberry (a native pink berry), pomegranate, sweet spice, dustings of pink pepper, strawberry gum, and old terracotta and earth. Bright and juicy with immediate appeal and complexity (perhaps masked by its deliciousness).

From our December 2023 Club notes:

Reed 'Alexia' Grenache, Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia 2021

Sierra Reed has had an unusual path to winemaking. She spent her early adult years working as a model, traveling the globe and experiencing food and drink cultures around the world. After winding down her modeling career, she spent a brief period of time in television, hosting an Aussie travel show episode focusing on the wine industry in New Zealand. It was here that the infamous Wine Bug struck Sierra! Soon after, she completely immersed herself in the world of wine, leaving behind the glamorous industry of entertainment. She completed internships with wineries all over the globe (literally), compiling an impressively long list of wineries in Paso Robles, the Rheingau, Beaujolais (to name just a few), and in her native Australia. 

Since 2015, Sierra has been making wine under her eponymous label. Based in the southern Australian state of Victoria, Sierra has devoted herself to making single vineyard bottlings of special plots across the country: everything from Heathcote Nebbiolo to Barossa Grenache to Riesling from her home region of Geelong. Her extensive training around the globe allows her to make wines intuitively rather than dogmatically. She pays close attention to the conditions of the vintage and the vineyard, and eschews any sort of interventional winemaking, aside from the small addition of sulfur to preserve the wines. 

The mediterranean-like climate of the Barossa allows for a variety of southern French grapes to be grown, including the Grenache that Sierra sources for this bottling. She harvests from Schliebs Family Farm, a biodynamic vineyard with 100-150 year old Grenache bush vines in the sandy Vine Vale subregion of the Barossa. Hand-picked at dawn and driven across the border by Sierra herself for vinification in Geelong, the grapes are hand destemmed and sorted, followed by wild fermentation and élevage in large format neutral French oak for twelve months. The result is what Sierra describes, "like a great croissant...many fine layers that accumulate to an intense but airy product." Aromas of pomegranate, crushed raspberries, rose petal, terracotta and sweet spice make this wine expressive and rich, but it maintains a lifted acidity that makes the wine bright and poppy. Pair it alongside almost anything…it’s especially great for cozying up with during a holiday movie marathon!  — Simi Grewal