2019 Cirillo Estate 1850 Ancestor Vine Grenache, Barossa Valley

This stunning young 2019 Grenache Ancestor vine, from the country’s oldest vines for this variety delivers an almost perfect mix of pristine primary dark cherry and red licorice aromas lifted by layers of mountain herbs, red earth and meat spices with genuine concentration and focus. Young, compact and still a little shy, it has all the pieces in place with energetic flavours, beautiful composure and refinement yet with a firm base of gravelly tannins before gliding to a pristine finish of astounding length. With the perfume of the 2017 vintage combined with the density of tannins from a year marked by long periods of dry, warm to hot conditions, this is as good as Barossa Grenache gets and may achieve perfection in time. Drink 2030 to 2050.

99+ points Angus Hughson for Wine Pilot, May 2026

Vincent Cirillo arrived in the Barossa from Calabria in 1946 with nine generations’ worth of winemaking history and a remarkable piece of fortune ahead. He became custodian of a vineyard planted in 1848 in what the Silesian settlers had called Seigersdorf, and today known as Light Pass. The vines — Grenache and Semillon — are now documented as the oldest surviving and producing examples of each variety in the world. Vincent resisted the vine pull scheme of the 1980s when many of his neighbours did not. In the last fifty years only Vincent and his son Marco have pruned this vineyard.

The Ancestor Vine classification under the Barossa Old Vine Charter requires a minimum of 125 years of age. These vines are now well past 175. Dry-grown, low-yielding, deeply rooted in ancient sandy soils at Light Pass, they produce fruit of extraordinary concentration and restraint in equal measure. Marco ferments with wild yeasts in open fermenters at cool temperatures, pressing to well-seasoned hogsheads. With minimal intervention at every stage, the wine is simply guided from the vineyard into the bottle.

The 2019 vintage brought long periods of dry, warm to hot conditions. It was a demanding season that concentrated the fruit and tightened the structure, and as a result, the wine is still finding its feet. Dark cherry and red liquorice on the nose with mountain herbs, red earth and meat spice — pristine and deeply aromatic. The palate is compact and focused with gravelly, energetic tannins and a finish of extraordinary length. Everything is in place; this simply needs time.

A wine that deserves its own occasion. When the moment comes: roasted lamb with dried herbs and anchovy, a slow-braised duck with juniper and red wine or aged hard cheese and good bread. The tannin structure and dark fruit depth will handle anything rich and considered.

Drink 2030 through 2050.