2025 Wirra Wirra Farmers Heart Grenache, McLaren Vale

From a few sites, with vines ranging from mature to ancient. This naturally carries the depth of a vintage that was warm and dry, with generally reduced yields. Dark red and black cherries, raspberry compote, summer pudding, some white pepper and dried herbs. It’s fuller in weight, if abidingly fresh in feel, the tannins carefully extracted to meet the concentration, with a savoury skein of natural grip, shaped for food.

93 points Special Value Marcus Ellis for Halliday Wine Companion, May 2026

Deep purple-red colour with a shy, reserved bouquet hinting at dried herbs and the palate is medium-full bodied and firm, savoury and with hints of oak, the palate texture firm and grainy with a drying after-effect. There's good depth here—a deep-set core of liqueur cherry remarkable at the price. There's a feeling this wine has more to show us, given sufficient time and air. It's already drinking well. Drink to 2035.

91 points Huon Hooke for The Real Review, July 2026

More about this wine

The late Greg Trott had an entrepreneur’s eye and a farmer’s heart, a balance that served him well. – Katie Spain, 2019

The fruit for the 2025 Farmer’s Heart from several subregions of McLaren Vale, with an average vine age of 60 years. The parcels were vinified separately, with fruit destemmed to open fermenters, and hand plunged or pumped overs two to four times daily to optimise colour and flavour extraction and reduced to once daily as fermentation neared completion. Following malolactic fermentation, extended lees contact was employed to build texture and complexity, and the components were matured for nine months in a combination of French oak puncheons (40%) and stainless steel prior to final selection, racking and blending.

About Wirra Wirra

Wirra Wirra was established in 1894 by Robert Strangways Wigley. Having fallen into disrepair after his death in 1926, it was resurrected by Greg Trott, who with his cousin along with his cousin Roger Trott bought the property in 1969. They restored the historic ironstone cellars and revived what is now one of Australia’s most loved names in wine.

The Wirra Wirra team passes by a large slate installation as they enter the winery, inscribed by Greg’s mantra: Never give misery an even break, nor bad wine a second sip. You must be serious about quality, dedicated to your task in life, especially winemaking, but this should all be fun.

Today, the much-enlarged estate vineyards across McLaren Vale are complemented by fruit from long-term growers in the Adelaide Hills, with vineyard work managed by a team lead by viticulturist Anton Groffen. The original estate vineyards around the winery, as well as those the team manages, are certified organic and biodynamic.

The women rule back at the winery, with chief winemaker Emma Wood working closely with Kelly Wellington and Grace Wang. Each wine in the Wirra Wirra portfolio has a defined style but with allowance for vintage variation. The stylistic thread across the wines is a balance of generosity and elegance.