Light Pass was one of the first Barossa precincts to be planted to vine. A single Grenache vineyard remains from earliest settlement, still yielding the most precious fruit, it is likely the oldest productive planting of Grenache in the world. Marco Cirillo personally manages each and every vine on this invaluable block, his specialty is Grenache and he maintains a close watch over his priceless old plantings. Much of what he picks off the vine is destined for the mighty Torbreck, he retains a small amount from each vintage to release under his own label.
Marco Cirillo can trace a family tradition of winemaking which dates back centuries. He turned his skills of viticulture to a seminal Barossa site in the 1970s and dedicated his life to old vines Grenache. A second vineyard, established in the 1930s and grown to the elevated aspects of Rowland Flats, is the source of fruit for The Vincent Grenache. Each and every one of the eighty year old vines is familiar to Cirillo, cared and pruned by hand, they yield small harvests of Grenache, almost without peer. Grapes are all hand picked and placed into vessels as whole berries for a traditional open fermentation. Upon completion, batches are filled to a collection of large, ancient oak Foudres for malolactic and a year's maturation.
Bright scarlet colour. Vibrant red cherry and black berry aromas, turkish delight notes, supple dusty vanilla, spiced plum and char. A generous, fleshy palate of purple fruit flavours, bramble and tar, a supple textural mouthfeel, the savouryness of olive and vinous bay leaf notes. Lifted fruit characters and splendid length, an exquisite lingering finish.