Alkina house spotlight
Amelia Nolan is on camera in The Grape Nomad's Meet the Masters film from Alkina, where this whole-bunch Kin Grenache is grown and made.
The market on this bottle
Wine-Searcher tracks this 2022 Kin Grenache across the open market. Their published U.S. low is $20.32 and the average is $31.16. Our slash is $19.
2022 Alkina Kin Grenache Barossa Valley, Australia
Amelia Nolan's whole-bunch Kin Grenache, schist and lavender, two 93-point reviews at nineteen dollars.
The 2022 Kin Grenache comes from Blocks 18 and 22, hand picked, 100 percent whole bunch, six months in concrete and stainless steel. Red cherry, strawberry, lavender, bergamot, now $19.
Barossa Grenache with perfume and a schist line
Blocks 18 and 22 were planted in 2016. Block 18 is schist and clay. Block 22 is elevated, bush-trained, quartzite and limestone. Amelia Nolan ferments four parcels as 100 percent whole bunches, three in concrete and one in steel, then six months of maturation. Halliday 93. James Suckling 93. Airy, mineral, and serious.
The parcels
Block 18 schist and clay. Block 22 quartzite and limestone, bush-trained on the contour.
The wine
100% whole bunch, four parcels, three concrete and one steel, six months before blend. 13.8% ABV.
The scores
James Halliday 93. James Suckling 93. Perfume, red fruit, schist tannin.
The drinker
Serve 58 to 62 F. Fifteen to 25 minutes of air. Chicken tagine or stuffed eggplant.
Cherry, lavender, and a mineral chew
Light on its feet but not simple: perfume and fruit over a distinctly mineral, savory frame.
Alkina describes 2022 as cool but compressed, with delayed growth, mild slow ripening, and a final warm spell. Yields landed in range. Fruit quality was excellent.
Red cherry, strawberry, plum, ginger, lavender, red licorice, dried thyme.
Airy frame, chalky precise tannins, 13.8% ABV, no new oak.
Cool mineral savor. Serve 58 to 62 F. Fifteen to 25 minutes of air.
Four parcels, all stems, no new oak
Amelia Nolan divides hand-picked fruit into four parcels and ferments them as 100 percent whole bunches. Three ferments are in concrete, one in stainless steel, about three weeks on skins. After basket pressing, most wine returns to concrete, with one smaller parcel in steel. Six months of maturation preserve freshness before blending and bottling. The shape of each parcel stays visible.
Block 18's schist and clay give chew. Block 22's quartzite and limestone give lift. The Kin label is where Alkina explores parcels like these.
About 750 cases plus 90 magnums. Serve slightly cool at 58 to 62 F.
Kin as a place to learn the farm
Alkina sits on the traditional lands of the Ngadjuri people, with 43 hectares of Grenache, Shiraz, Mataro, and Semillon.
The estate describes its purpose as understanding, nurturing, and expressing the land through wine and regenerative farming.
Detailed soil mapping lets the team work at a parcel scale unusual even in Barossa. Oldest vines date to the 1950s. These Grenache blocks are younger, planted 2016.
Damian Hamilton created the 2022 Kin Grenache label artwork, extending that contemporary identity from vineyard to bottle.
Warm spice, roasted eggplant
Moroccan spice highlights fruit and florals. Roasted eggplant and spiced beef draw out the earthy, mineral side.
Two plates. One chicken tagine with apricots. One Turkish stuffed eggplant.
Serve slightly cool at 58 to 62 F and give it 15 to 25 minutes of air. The cooler temperature preserves floral lift beside aromatic dishes.
Moroccan Chicken Tagine with Apricots and Chickpeas
Cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, apricot, and tender chicken mirror the wine's perfume and warm spice.
Why it works: Apricot and spice amplify Grenache fruit and florals, while bright acidity keeps the braise fresh.
View Recipe for Moroccan Chicken Tagine (opens in a new tab)
Turkish Stuffed Eggplant with Spiced Beef and Tomato
Roasted eggplant, tomato, herbs, and seasoned beef meet savory earth, red fruit, and chewy tannin.
Why it works: Eggplant echoes the mineral, smoky side. Tomato lifts acidity. Beef gives the tannins a gentle anchor.
View Recipe for Turkish Stuffed Eggplant (opens in a new tab)Open Kin Grenache tonight
Amelia Nolan's whole-bunch Grenache, two 93s, lavender and schist. Nineteen dollars.
Put it in the cart. This is Barossa perfume without the old weight.
