Bulman Wines
Gary's Vineyard Grenache, 2024

Barossa Valley, Australia

£50.00

Bulman Wines, Gary's Vineyard Grenache, 2024

Bulman Wines
Gary's Vineyard Grenache, 2024

Barossa Valley, Australia

£50.00

We currently have -1 in stock. Please email hello@thesourcingtable.com to request more.
SIZE:
75cl

Save 10% when you buy 6 bottles 2024 vintage Bulman Wines in any combination.

This is an energetic but graceful expression of Grenache. On the nose, you’ll find savoury herbal notes of thyme and sage. The palate is bright and generous, with juicy red cherry fruit, red liquorice and a touch of cardamom and clove. A backbone of velvety tannins carry it through to a long, fresh, beautiful finish.

Named after grower Gary Whaite, this vineyard is carved into a tough, beautiful patch of land in Blewitt Springs. The soils here are a wild mix of ironstone conglomerate, sand, and gravel layered over mottled orange and yellow clay. Sitting at 200 metres above sea level, the site enjoys cool breezes and gentle north-facing slopes above the Onkaparinga Gorge. The vines are dry grown, digging deep for water and flavour.

When Gary first planted Grenache here, he used a sledgehammer and pick to break through the stubborn ironstone. That moment is captured on the wine’s label, which features a fragment of the broken rock, its surface catching the light like a slice of the night sky. Subtly embossed, you’ll find an image of Gary himself, hammer in hand, looking into both the stone and the stars.

96
Campbell Mattison Via Winefront

Lots of time on skins, raised in amphora, made by an all-round class act who also a) happens to be one the better human beings you’re ever likely to encounter and b) be the first person to win the Jimmy Watson with a varietal grenache. It’s been quite a thing to watch the birth of this Bulman endeavour. We’re watching something special grow up from the very ground. Last year I scored both the Blewitt Springs/McLaren Vale and Springton/Eden Valley releases – Glen’s and Gary’s respectively – the same, though if I was forced to choose I probably would have gone for the Blewitt. Both the 2024 releases this year are surlier than their 2023 equivalents, which isn’t a bad thing. Both these wines need lots of air and, yet better, a few years in a cool, dark, stable place. The flavour profile, the tonic notes, the firm ribs of tannin, the way it starts to slide away and then kicks back up and then, yet still, continues with an extra drift of flavour. This is a wine to reward the patient. It tastes of fresh red cherry and red licorice, iron, plum, salted spices, dried herbs and rust. There’s both substance and lightness, grunt and run. The purity of this wine feels more like honesty. It skips over the essences and drives straight for the essential. It’s the face of character, served clean, lined deep. It’s a beauty. As in, it’s beautiful, and its quality is cracking good.

About Bulman Wines

Mark Bulman is a first-generation winemaker with roots in Australia but experience that spans cool-climate vineyards from New Zealand to Germany. In 2009, he returned home to the Barossa Valley, bringing with him a deep passion for Grenache, long before it became the grape of the moment.

A trip to Gigondas in the Southern Rhône was a turning point. The trip came as a prize after Mark won the prestigious Jimmy Watson Trophy in 2017 and showed him a bolder side of Grenache; powerful, rich, and high in alcohol. But instead of following suit, Mark saw an opportunity to take Grenache in a different direction: fresher, more refined, and full of nuance. That vision has shaped his approach ever since.

His wines are all about precision and elegance, with layer upon layer of flavour while still letting Grenache's pure, aromatic character shine through.

We have both of Mark’s stunning single-site expressions in our collection—each named after the grower behind the fruit.

Gary’s Vineyard sits in Blewitt Springs, McLaren Vale, and turns out a spicy, herbal Grenache with wild notes of sage and ginger. Glen’s Vineyard, established way back in 1857, lies in the cooler Springton area of Eden Valley. This one’s taut and focused, with zesty hints of blood orange, rhubarb and white pepper.

In the cellar, Mark keeps things gentle and thoughtful: minimal oxygen exposure to preserve freshness, long maceration for texture, and ageing in sandstone amphora to let the sites speak for themselves.

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