Grenache Rosé McLaren Vale 2023 – Willunga 100

To produce the Grenache Rosé McLaren Vale Willunga 100, the hand-picked fruit was destemmed into a fermenter to drain for three to four hours, care was taken to minimise excessive colour extraction to keep the wine as pale as possible. The juice was settled, racked and then fermented in stainless steel using a neutral yeast strain. The wine was chilled post-fermentation and spent a further four months on lees, with regular stirring to build texture.

Sourced from the estate-owned ‘Blind Spot’ vineyard in the sub-region of Blewitt Springs in McLaren Vale, this site benefits from the Mediterranean-like climate of warm sunny days and sea breeze influences (from the nearby Gulf St Vincent). The chosen block for the rosé has dry-grown bush vines planted in 1968 at an altitude of approximately 150 metres above sea level on a south-west facing slope. The soils of the vineyard are deep Maslin sand over a base of ironstone and clay. The warm days together with the cool maritime evenings are perfect for ripening the grapes while maintaining a crisp, clean structure.

Willunga 100 is in McLaren Vale, south of Adelaide. The grapes come from a range of selected vineyards in McLaren Vale, including some over 80 years old. Head winemaker Skye Salter is supported by Mike Farmilo who has 40 years of experience working in McLaren Vale. Together they aim to produce unique and distinctive wines which capture the essence of the region. They use modern equipment alongside traditional winemaking techniques to ferment the small parcels of fruit arriving at the winery. The term “hundred” originates from late Saxon and Norman England and refers to an administrative unit of government, meaning that 100+ households had to live in the area to qualify for its place on the map. Willunga 100 select their fruit from small parcels just as the district was divided up into ‘100s’, or small lots.