Beyond GSM: A blend that's out of the ordinary

Most wine lovers have heard of GSM, the blend of grenache, shiraz and mourvedre (mataro) brought to prominence by the winemakers of the French Cotes du Rhone region and widely produced in Australia.

Many of the GSM blends come from the Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale where the three varieties have been grown for numerous decades. The proportion of the varieties can change so you may find GMS and SGM blends about.

They have morphed over the years, with several examples of GST, grenache, shiraz and touriga (a Portuguese variety best known for its use in ports) or grenache, shiraz and tempranillo (the great red grape of Spain).

Angelo Puglisi of Ballandean Estate

Well, add to the list GFM, as produced by Ballandean Estate on Queensland’s Granite Belt. In contrast to the better-known GSM, this is an all-white blend of the Italian varieties giallo (a member of the muscat family mostly grown in north-east Italy), fiano and malvasia.

Normally, Ballandean Estate produce three separate examples of the varieties but the drought-hit 2020 vintage was so small that Angelo Puglisi (left) and the winemaking team decided to blend the three.

The result is a delicious white with floral characters from the giallo and palate richness and complexity from the fiano and malvasia. It’s proven very popular with drinkers and I believe it is a style that they should keep making each vintage, even when increased fruit volumes allow them to make each variety separately.

For more information go to www.ballandeanestate.com