Who makes it
Marco Cirillo leads viticulture, winemaking and winery management at Cirillo Estate Wines. The family estate works historic Grenache and Semillon vineyards in the Barossa Valley, then extends the range with single vineyard Shiraz, Mataro and additional Grenache bottlings.
The range includes ancestor vine wines alongside site specific bottles. Cirillo's work keeps the grape varieties and vineyard parcels visible across red, rosé and other single vineyard wines.
Where it grows
The Barossa Valley lies about 60 kilometres north of Adelaide in South Australia. Cirillo's vineyard story is tied to Light Pass, the small district where Vincent Cirillo became custodian of historic plantings.
The Grenache vineyard lies in the old Seigersdorf or Light Pass area of the Barossa Valley. The local name places the vineyard within a specific district rather than treating the valley as one undifferentiated address.
How it is made
The cellar
Cirillo describes its farming practice as sustainable. For the last 50 years, only Vincent and Marco Cirillo have pruned the Grenache vineyard.
Handpicked fruit is destemmed into open fermenters and kept very cool. Fermentation uses natural and wild yeasts, with minimal intervention in the cellar.
What they make
The range pairs ancestor vine Grenache and Semillon with site specific Shiraz, Mataro and additional Grenache bottlings. The 1850 Ancestor Vine Grenache is the single vineyard red, while the 2025 Ancestor Vine Grenache Rosato is the varietal rosé.
The Mataro has a separate origin within the old Grenache vineyard. Cuttings came from nine rouge Mataro vines growing among the Grenache, giving the range a bottle with its own vine material and vineyard history.