Is grenache underrated as a wine?

Chester Osborn never does anything by halves. He has just lined up about 30 grenache-based wines, mostly from France and Spain, to compare key vintages and regions.

All are from his private cellar and he wants to make a point: that this underestimated variety deserves more attention.

In a shirt as colourful as his personality, Osborn is the winemaker at d'Arenberg, where some outstanding straight grenache and blends are produced.

That's thanks in part to the foresight of his father d'Arry Osborn, who refused to take part in the federal government's vine-pull scheme of the mid-1980s because he saw it as an act of vandalism that would destroy winemaking history.

"Grenache is a big part of our business as more than half of our dry reds include grenache," he says.

"When it's made well it has an amazing fruit lift, long accentuated fruit characters on the palate, flowery with lively spice notes and those gritty tannins, plus it ages beautifully."

Think of GSM, the mix of grenache, shiraz and mourvedre that we do so well in Australia.

Some people might be surprised to know that grenache is the most planted red variety in the world, but that does not necessarily translate to the most popular.

Think about it. When was the last time you ordered one?

Circa head sommelier Liam O'Brien says he often serves grenache in a degustation menu "because as a medium-weighted wine, it can work well with many dishes without dominating".

That was Kym Teusner's thinking too. A decade or so before this young Barossa Valley winemaker took to making the stuff, he was serving it in Adelaide restaurants.

"Grenache is what got me interested in wine in the first place," Teusner says. "It goes with anything."

There is no doubt that the soul of his eponymous label is grenache: his two blends are the best-selling Joshua - an unoaked, vibrant fresh young wine - and Avatar, which usually receives about two years' extra ageing.

And there's the single vineyard Moppa grenache, which sees new oak.

He also has access to old vines, in particular fruit from the Riebke brothers, growers who have a vineyard full of gnarly 70-plus-year-old vines.

Two distinct grenache styles have emerged, those from the Barossa and those from McLaren Vale; most Australian grenache is grown in SA.

The former tends to produce a deeply coloured, richer wine with dark cherry and plum fruit notes, whereas McLaren Vale is generally spicier with more floral notes.

The variety's excellent performance in Australia is not lost on Stephen Pannell, a McLaren Vale grenache man.

Pannell, who sells wine under his own label, laments that grenache is not held in the same regard as other French varieties such as shiraz and cabernet sauvignon, which are viticulturally intensive, especially in their need for water.

Grenache can be dry-grown, so it should be rated highly as a viable, sustainable alternative.

However, that might not happen soon.

The latest Wine Industry Directory figures show that grenache plantings between 2006 and '07 decreased 7pc to 2011 hectares, although there were 20 hectares of new plantings in 2007.

In 2005, a group of McLaren Vale winemakers joined forces to create Cadenzia, an umbrella organisation aimed at marketing grenache and the region.

While they retain their own labels, Cadenzia indicates that grenache is the dominant variety and 85pc of the whole wine is sourced from McLaren Vale.

Osborn, a Cadenzia member, says it's just another way of promoting grenache.

Which takes us back to the 30 wines he had lined up for tasting.

"Grenache is here to stay," Osborn says. "So let's drink it."