WILLUNGA 100 · McLAREN VALE · HOSTED BY DAVID GLEAVE MW
The Grenache That Made History
In 2025 a McLaren Vale Grenache won the Prime Minister's Trophy at the National Wine Show, the first Grenache to take the top award in the show's 50-year history. Co-founder David Gleave MW joins us to pour eleven wines that show how Willunga 100 got there.
"A truly beautiful wine… unique to this place… and magnificent."
Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate
"Another beautiful wine from the exceptional 2024 suite. Stunning."
Marcus Ellis, Halliday Wine Companion
"A deeply meditative quality to the expression."
Marcus Ellis, Halliday Wine Companion
Saturday 31 October 2026
Hosted by David Gleave MW, co-founder of Willunga 100
Lunch: 12–2.30pm | 11 wines and 4 courses | $135
Masterclass: 3–5pm | 11 wines & canapés | $65
Willunga 100 in Context
David Gleave MW, the London-based founder of UK importer Liberty Wines, and John Ratcliffe, a former managing director of Oddbins, founded Willunga 100 in 2005. They came to McLaren Vale for Grenache at a time when few people took it seriously, convinced by the old bush vines of Blewitt Springs and Clarendon.
Twenty years on, the rest of the country has caught up. The 2023 McLaren Vale Grenache took the Prime Minister's Trophy ahead of more than 1,000 wines, and the single-vineyard wines now sit among the best Grenache in Australia. This tasting walks from the whites, through the McLaren Vale blends, to a three-vintage vertical of the estate Blind Spot vineyard and the two great grower sites, finishing with two vintages of the reserve, The Tithing.
The Prime Minister's Trophy
At the 2025 National Wine Show of Australia, the 2023 Willunga 100 McLaren Vale Grenache won the Prime Minister's Trophy for Champion Wine of Show. It was the first Grenache to take the top award in the show's 50-year history, chosen ahead of more than 1,000 wines, and it also took Best Red Wine of Show and Best Grenache.
Chair of Judges Matt Harrop called it an "incredibly beautiful" wine, and said Grenache is "riding the zeitgeist".
Pictured: winemaker Renae Hirsch with Minister Don Farrell at the 2025 National Wine Show.
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2026
Grenache Trophy, National Wine Show of Australia: 2024 Trott Vineyard Grenache
Halliday Wine Companion 2026: the 2024 Blind Spot, Trott and Smart Grenaches all named among the best Grenache of the year
Renae Hirsch shortlisted for Halliday Winemaker of the Year (2027 Awards)2025
Prime Minister's Trophy (Champion Wine of Show), Best Red Wine of Show and Best Grenache, National Wine Show of Australia: 2023 McLaren Vale Grenache
Gold Medal and Grenache Trophy finalist, National Wine Show of Australia: 2023 Trott Vineyard Grenache
George Mackey Memorial Trophy (Best Grenache) and Best Small Producer Wine, Sydney Royal Wine Show: 2024 Trott Vineyard Grenache
Gold Medal, Sydney Royal Wine Show: 2024 Smart Vineyard Grenache
d'Arry Osborn Award, McLaren Vale Wine Show, honouring champions of McLaren Vale's old-vine Grenache (previous recipients James Halliday and Bernard Smart)
Gold Medals, McLaren Vale Wine Show: 2024 McLaren Vale Grenache and 2024 Tempranillo2024
Best Grenache Trophy, Melbourne Royal Wine Awards: 2023 Smart Vineyard Grenache2023
Best Grenache Trophy, National Wine Show of Australia: 2021 Smart Vineyard Grenache -
David Gleave MW
A Master of Wine and the London-based founder of UK importer Liberty Wines, David co-founded Willunga 100 with John Ratcliffe in 2005. He joins us in Cottesloe to host both sessions.Renae Hirsch
Willunga 100's winemaker since the 2023 vintage, Renae made the Prime Minister's Trophy wine. In her words: "The main thing I focus on is expressing each site's purity of character in the final wines."The Name
Willunga 100 takes its name from the historic Hundred of Willunga, proclaimed in 1839. To be recognised as a "Hundred", an area had to be settled by 100 households. -
Blind Spot, Blewitt Springs
The estate vineyard on Moritz Road, bought in 2019. Around 8 hectares of old bush-vine Grenache planted in the 1960s on deep Maslin sand over ironstone and clay, plus 80-year-old Shiraz. It is the source of the Prime Minister's Trophy wine and home to the new Piquepoul plantings.Trott, Blewitt Springs
Viticulturist Sue Trott's vineyard: dry-grown bush vines planted in 1952 on ancient sand over clay and ironstone, about 210 metres above sea level. A trophy winner at Sydney Royal 2025 and the 2026 National Wine Show.Smart, Clarendon
Century-old vines tended by Bernard Smart and his son Wayne. The coolest of the three sites, and a Best Grenache trophy winner at the National Wine Show (2023) and Melbourne Royal (2024).
The Wine List & Menu
First Bracket
2026 Willunga 100 Blewitt Springs Piquepoul
The first release of this variety, from new plantings at the Blind Spot vineyard. Renae Hirsch describes "beautiful freshness, citrusy acidity and that characteristic slight saline character".
2025 Willunga 100 McLaren Vale Grenache Blanc
71/29% McLaren Flat/Sellicks Hill. The latter low lying on clay, near to the ocean and its cooling breezes. The former a little more elevated at 135 metres on clay loam soils; 70% steel and 30% older puncheons. The second release, and from a hot and dry year. Not that it shows here, with thrilling acid drive and vividly fresh fruit, co-mingling orchard fruits, through golden apple, pear, lemon and cool stone fruit, along with a whisper of salinity. Textural, a little pithy and resolutely fresh. It's good stuff, and it will only get better.
93 Points - Marcus Ellis, Halliday Wine Companion
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Second Bracket
2024 Willunga 100 McLaren Vale Grenache
The current vintage of the Prime Minister's Trophy wine. Gold Medal, McLaren Vale Wine Show 2025.
From 50-year-old vines on the estate Blindspot vineyard, Blewitt Springs. A brilliant garnet in the glass, this is delightfully pure of feel, though with a little more generosity, a lower-gear drive than the single sites. There are some darker fruits, a violet note, iodine, iron, a rounding out of flavour from older oak maturation (70%). There's drive and tension, too. Redcurrant gel, black cherry, dried hardy herbs, a little anise, with a savouriness to flavour and structure. It's a fine introduction to the Willunga 100 grenache mission.
93 Points - Marcus Ellis, Halliday Wine Companion
2024 Willunga 100 'Sheer Madness' Blewitt Springs GSM
Old estate vines for the grenache (1968) and shiraz (1934), with the mataro (1940) from a neighbouring site. The madness is both referential to the original vines being planted by Percy Moritz, or rather the perception by locals given the frugal sandy soils, and also to this modern incarnation that would only yield a mid-weight wine. I'm not sure the latter is much concern. Anyway, mid-weight, yes, but there's some grunt here, the ironstone bedrock a promontory into the red and tart black berries and cherries, a rustle of woody herbs in the background. It's a pretty savoury affair, some oak tannin giving it a linear drive, the finish sour-cherry-toned. This really needs air. Splash it in a decanter for best effect.
93 Points - Marcus Ellis, Halliday Wine Companion
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Third Bracket: Blind Spot Vertical
2025 Willunga 100 Blind Spot Blewitt Springs Grenache (Pre-release)
The home vineyard, from two bush-vine blocks on the district's typical sand over ironstone and clay, with vines planted between 1963 and '69; whole-berry ferment, gently pumped over, 10 months in steel. The two Blewitt Springs wines are showing beautifully at this early stage, a little after bottling. Cherry scented, both marasca and Bing, blood plum, fresh deep-red rose, Levant spices, potpourri and musk. Like the other bottlings, there's a savoury feel to this, those flavours high definition but not overt, tannins refined, acidity energetic and cooling. Exceptional.
97 Points - Marcus Ellis, Halliday Wine Companion
2024 Willunga 100 Blind Spot Blewitt Springs Grenache
The 2024 Blind Spot Vineyard Grenache leads with rose petals and sweet tobacco, and layers of graphite and floral perfume abound. This is alluring and delicate, fragrant and mineral. It's a seriously typical McLaren Vale Grenache, which is a compliment of the highest order. In the mouth, the wine is silky, supple and fresh, with blood orange, timut pepper and fennel. The fruit was whole-berry sorted, with no crushing—i.e., a little carbonic maceration impact—and was basket pressed to stainless steel. The wine then spent 10 months on light lees in stainless steel, and while a small component of large-format oak was blended back in, this is not a main feature of the wine. It's a truly beautiful wine here, a mainline into the dirt—to be specific, the very fine, sandy dunes that account for the majority of the terroir here. It is unique to this place (magic numbers: naturally low pH of 3.22 and total acidity of 6.72, with flavor and phenolic ripeness) and magnificent. 14% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.
97 Points - Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate (also 97 Points, Marcus Ellis, Halliday Wine Companion)
2023 Willunga 100 Blind Spot Blewitt Springs Grenache
From 55-year-old estate dry-grown bush vines in Blewitt Springs; deep Maslin sand over ironstone and clay. This rounds out the single-site grenache bottlings. The clarity of making is the same, with each speaking of site, and all three pure, lithe and vibrant, but this presents now as the slightly more brooding of the trio. Dusky floral, deep red rose and warm brown spices over red and black cherry, ripening mulberry and freeze-dried raspberry, tannins insistent, presently coiled, acidity a driver. It's a very nice wine, and the August release is on its side.
95 Points - Marcus Ellis, Halliday Wine Companion
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Fourth Bracket
2023 Willunga 100 Trott Vineyard Blewitt Springs Grenache
Gold Medal and Grenache Trophy finalist, National Wine Show 2025.
Sourced from Sue Trott's vineyard in Blewitt Springs off dry-grown bush vines planted in '52; soils are deep Maslin sand over clay and ironstone; 10% whole bunch, the remainder destemmed; 10 days on skins; matured in stainless steel. From a hallowed site, this is a deeply layered expression, though so transparent of making. Fruits flow through red and into black, with some sour plums jostling with the redcurrant jelly and ripe wild-raspberry notes, Baharat spices, bergamot, tamarind paste and warmed star anise. Even at this early stage, there is a deeply meditative quality to the expression, a wine speaking clearly of fruit, place and a beneficial (if difficult) season.
96 Points - Marcus Ellis, Halliday Wine Companion (also 96 Points from Nick Ryan, The Australian, and Huon Hooke, The Real Review)
2023 Willunga 100 Smart Vineyard Clarendon Grenache
Planted in 1922 on red clay loams over shale and ironstone. Darker fruit profile, but without density. Assured, poised and intricately structured. Dark cherry, rubbed rosemary, a seam of spice. It's a beautiful framework, with the temptation to over-decorate through winemaking resisted.
96 Points - Nick Ryan, The Australian
2018 Willunga 100 'The Tithing' Grenache
A beautiful grenache with ripe red fruits that turn to bark and dried flowers on both the nose and the palate. Medium-bodied with red earth and creamy yet firm tannins. It shows length and depth. A fascinating combination of ripe fruit and freshness. Screw cap.
94 Points - JamesSuckling.com
2013 Willunga 100 'The Tithing' Grenache
The colour is exceptionally bright and lively for grenache, and sets the scene for gloriously juicy red berry fruits that race headlong along the palate and into the finish and aftertaste, its vibrant acidity the key to its rare quality.
96 Points - James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion