Cirillo Estate Wines

Vincent Cirillo came to South Australia from Calabria, in southern Italy, in 1946, from a family with more than 400 years of winemaking history across nine generations. The Cirillo family moved to Light Pass in the early 1970s, and Vincent became custodian of vineyards planted in 1848, among the very first vines planted in the Barossa Valley. In Marco Cirillo's words, "Our old vineyard was planted by the Graetz family in 1848 and is the oldest continuously producing Grenache vineyard in the world." At first the family sold the fruit to other wineries: the Grenache to Rockford and Torbreck and the Semillon to Peter Lehmann Wines, with St Hallett also among the buyers. During the vine pull program of the 1980s, Vincent kept the 1848 vines in the ground. Marco Cirillo kept the fruit for the family label after establishing that the vines dated from 1848, and made the first Cirillo 1850 Grenache in 2003. The estate remains family owned.

• 1946: Vincent Cirillo emigrated from Calabria to South Australia
• Early 1970s: the family moved to Light Pass and Vincent became custodian of the 1848 vineyards
• Fruit sold to Rockford, Peter Lehmann, St Hallett and Torbreck before the family label
• 1980s: Vincent kept the 1848 vines through the vine pull program
• 2003: first Cirillo 1850 Grenache made by Marco Cirillo

Marco Cirillo, the youngest of Vincent and Lina Cirillo's four children, leads viticulture, winemaking and winery management and is listed as owner, viticulturist and winemaker. He studied winemaking through Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga in the late 1990s while working as a cellar hand. In the last 50 years only Vincent and Marco have pruned the 1848 Grenache vineyard. Marco's wife, Annika Lehmann, of the Lehmann family, handles general enquiries and private tastings and sales.

• Marco Cirillo: owner, viticulturist and winemaker
• Studied winemaking through Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga in the late 1990s
• Annika Lehmann: general enquiries, private tastings and sales

The 1848 vines grow on sandy soils in the old Seigersdorf, or Light Pass, area of the Barossa Valley, in around eight feet of pure golden sand, a common terroir of the Vine Vale area. The 1848 Grenache is a single vineyard of dry-grown bush vines, and the 1848 Semillon is the Madeira clone, from one of the few remaining Madeira vineyards in Australia. Vincent adopted a basket-pruning style in the 1970s that helps the vines support themselves. The longevity of Barossa's oldest vines is credited to South Australia's strict quarantine policies, which protected vines from the phylloxera outbreak. Beyond the 1848 blocks, The Vincent Grenache comes from two vineyards planted in 1901 and 1906 on sandy Barossa soils, together with fruit declassified from the 1848 Grenache vineyard. The Mataro block was propagated from cuttings of nine individual Mataro vines growing among the old Grenache vineyard; Marco raised them in a nursery at the winery and replanted them as bush vines on the Cirillo property in 2005. The Single Vineyard Shiraz is sourced exclusively from the Cirillo family estate. The estate uses organic and biodynamic practices.

• 1848 Grenache and 1848 Semillon (Madeira clone) on deep sand in the old Seigersdorf or Light Pass area
• 1848 vines on their own rootstocks; the 1848 Grenache is dry-grown bush vines, basket pruned
• The Vincent Grenache: vineyards planted in 1901 and 1906, plus declassified 1848 Grenache fruit
• Mataro: nine old vines propagated and replanted as bush vines in 2005

The 1850 Ancestor Vine Grenache is a 100% Grenache from the 1848 vineyard, matured in aged seasoned hogsheads; the estate also offers museum releases of older vintages, among them 2006 and 2016. The 1850 Ancestor Vine Semillon is handpicked early at around 10 Baumé, basket pressed and fermented in stainless steel with no oak, then bottle-aged for five years before release. An 1850 Ancestor Vine Grenache Rosato comes from the more vigorous north-western section of the old Grenache vineyard. The Vincent Grenache, a tribute to Marco's father, is open fermented with natural yeast, left unfined and unfiltered, and matured for six months in seasoned oak and stainless steel. The Single Vineyard Shiraz is fermented with indigenous yeast in open fermenters and matured mostly in stainless steel; the Single Vineyard Mataro spends 12 months in seasoned French oak, with around 60 dozen made each year. Small releases include a Single Vineyard Malbec (64 cases of the 2023), a Sangiovese (40 cases of the 2024), the 2009 Annika White Fortified Semillon from the 1848 Semillon vines, and the 1977 Douglas Fortified Muscat, made by the late Doug Lehmann. Decanter's David Williams scored the 2018 1850 Grenache 95 points in September 2025, with a drinking window of 2025 to 2035.

• 1850 Ancestor Vine Grenache: 100% Grenache from the 1848 vineyard, matured in seasoned hogsheads
• 1850 Ancestor Vine Semillon: no oak, bottle-aged five years before release
• 1850 Ancestor Vine Grenache Rosato, The Vincent Grenache, Single Vineyard Shiraz, Single Vineyard Mataro
• Small releases: Single Vineyard Malbec, Sangiovese, Annika White Fortified Semillon, Douglas Fortified Muscat
• 2018 1850 Grenache: 95 points from Decanter's David Williams (September 2025)

Marco Cirillo calls minimal intervention fundamental to his approach: natural and wild yeasts, handpicked fruit destemmed into open fermenters, and very cool fermentation temperatures to achieve "elegance and fruit drive." The estate's note on the 1850 Grenache puts it plainly: "The Cirillo Grenache is more about the variety than the oak." For the Semillon, the estate expects the wine to "age gracefully for up to 20 years, gaining layers of toast, lanolin, honey, and roasted nut complexity."

• Minimal intervention, natural and wild yeasts, open fermenters
• 1850 Grenache: 'more about the variety than the oak'

Yalumba drafted the Barossa Old Vine Charter in 2007; it was forwarded to the Barossa Grape & Wine Association and introduced in 2009. The charter classifies vines in four age tiers: Barossa Old Vine (35 years or older), Barossa Survivor Vine (70 years or older), Barossa Centenarian Vine (100 years or older) and Barossa Ancestor Vine (125 years or older). The Cirillo Estate 1850 Grenache is a listed example of an Ancestor Vine wine, alongside examples including Hewitson's Old Garden Mourvèdre and Langmeil's The Freedom 1843 Shiraz.

• Drafted by Yalumba in 2007; introduced in 2009
• Four tiers: Old Vine 35+, Survivor 70+, Centenarian 100+, Ancestor 125+ years
• Cirillo Estate 1850 Grenache: a listed Ancestor Vine example

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://cirilloestatewines.com.au/, https://cirilloestatewines.com.au/estate/, https://cirilloestatewines.com.au/shop/, https://cirilloestatewines.com.au/product/2019-1850-ancestor-vine-grenache/, https://cirilloestatewines.com.au/product/1850-ancestor-vine-semillon/, https://cirilloestatewines.com.au/product/2025-the-vincent-grenache/, https://cirilloestatewines.com.au/product/2025-single-vineyard-shiraz/, https://cirilloestatewines.com.au/product/single-vineyard-mataro/, https://cirilloestatewines.com.au/product/1850-old-vine-grenache-rosato/, https://cirilloestatewines.com.au/product/2019-single-vineyard-malbec/, https://cirilloestatewines.com.au/product/2024-sangiovese/, https://cirilloestatewines.com.au/product/museum-release-2005-1850-ancestor-vine-grenache/, https://cirilloestatewines.com.au/product/museum-release-2015-1850-ancestor-vine-grenache/, https://cirilloestatewines.com.au/product/2009-annika-white-fortified-semillon/, https://cirilloestatewines.com.au/product/1977-douglas-fortified-muscat/. Official sources: Wine Australia (https://www.australianwine.com/trade/expo/wineries/cirillo-estate-wines) and Barossa Australia (https://www.barossa.com/visit/food-drink/cirillo-estate-wines/, https://www.barossa.com/wine/vineyards/old-vine-charter/). Secondary sources: Decanter (David Sly, last updated 20 September 2023: https://www.decanter.com/premium/australia-oldest-vines-and-10-wines-to-try-499130; tasting by David Williams, 29 September 2025: https://www.decanter.com/wine-reviews/australia/south-australia/cirillo-estate-1850-vine-barossa-valley-grenache-barossa-102953). Last verified 2026-10-18. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.