Even Keel Grenache 2024 by Sam Coverdale’s Even Keel label out of Heathcote is a beautifully bright, high‑country Grenache with perfume, energy and serious drinkability written all over it. Sourced from a single vineyard on a high easterly slope of the Mount Camel Range, this Even Keel Heathcote Grenache captures ripeness, lift and spice without ever feeling heavy. It is a modern, medium‑bodied Aussie Grenache that feels tailor‑made for relaxed dinners and winter evenings alike.

The nose is beguiling – ripe red fruits, musk sticks, woody perfume and a touch of cedar weaving in with wild strawberry and red cherry. On the palate it is bright, playful and refreshing, with juicy red berries, hints of spice and savoury interest carried on crunchy, fine tannins and a flowing line of acidity. That combination of purity, fragrance and a supple but assertive tannin frame keeps each glass feeling vibrant and moreish.

On the table, 2024 Even Keel Grenache is spot on with grilled lamb cutlets, charred butterflied chicken or a good old pork and fennel sausage off the barbie, where the juicy fruit and tannin handle the fat easily. It will also sing with wood‑fired pizza, Spanish‑style tapas, roast root veg or a baked eggplant dish for a veg‑friendly match. At around the $40–45 mark on shelf, it is a cracking value Heathcote Grenache to open now or drink over the next few years.