Product Information:
It’s clean, juicy and uncomplicated - think lemon rind, fleshy stone fruit and melon rinds. Straightforward on the palate too, citrus, nectarine. Round and nice driving acidity.
Fleurieu Peninsula Sauvignon blanc fruit was picked relatively early in the season to display fresh leafy and grassy notes. Grapes were destemmed, crushed and chilled to less than 10 degrees on the way to the airbag press. The juice was then pressed to stainless steel vessels, keeping the free run and pressings juice separate. Juices were cold settled in tank for a week and racked off lees. The clear juice was warmed and inoculated with yeast to begin the fermentation process. Once the ferments were completely dry and settled, selected parcels were fined and then blended before filtration and bottling
Maker:
Every day, the Wirra Wirra tribe passes by a large slate installation as they enter the winery. Inscribed on it is Greg Trott’s (founder) philosophy on life, a mantra that guides their daily tasks: "Never give misery an even break, nor bad wine a second sip. You must be serious about quality, dedicated to your task in life, especially winemaking, but this should all be fun."
Perched atop the winery in a modest belltower is a 3/4-tonne bell that they ring occasionally or randomly. They also enjoy hurling watermelons from a giant medieval siege machine set up on the lawns, and their grounds are secured by a boundary fence known as ‘Woodhenge,’ made from massive threaded redgum trunks.
The tribe celebrates their successes with gusto (wine in hand), and even when there’s no success to celebrate, they always find another reason. They are serious about the wine they make, the wines they drink, and the biodynamic vines they grow, but they firmly believe that everything else should be fun. They are the Wirra Wirra Tribe.
Wirra Wirra produces generous, elegant, and fresh red wines from McLaren Vale, specialising in the region’s classic varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, and Grenache. Chief Winemaker Emma Wood draws inspiration from the cooler Adelaide Hills to craft expressive and vibrant white wines from Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay. A stylistic thread across the Wirra Wirra portfolio is a balance of generosity and elegance.
In 2024, the winery upgraded with a new premium facility featuring state-of-the-art de-stemming, sorting, and crushing equipment. This enables the winemaking team to deliver pristine fruit to temperature-controlled two-tonne open fermenters, allowing winemakers to to precisely control the percentage of whole berries and crushing level for each parcel. Each open fermenter is hand plunged and pumped over according to a tailored regime based on daily tastings. After fermentation, the wine is basket pressed and sent to barrels, with oak selection matched to each wine’s characteristics. Following barrel maturation, classification and blending bring together multiple parcels, allowing for the identification of single vineyard wines. Each wine in the Wirra Wirra portfolio has a distinct style while accommodating vintage variations.
The Vineyards:
Fruit sourcing is paramount to achieving the Wirra Wirra style, which beautifully balances generous fruit with elegance and perfume aromas. All of Wirra Wirra's estate and managed vineyards are certified organic and biodynamic, and the team collaborates closely with dedicated growers in two regions of South Australia. McLaren Vale is home-base and where the majority of fruit is sourced for crafting Wirra Wirra’s famous red wines, but they also source premium white grapes from a select group of vineyards in the Adelaide Hills, a cooler climate grape growing region, to make an award winning sauvignon blanc, riesling and chardonnay.
Their playfully named estate blocks - Scrubby Rise, Nocowie, Chook Block, ‘73 Block, Woodhenge and House Block - contribute some of our best fruit year after year in McLaren Vale. They also happen to be managed biodynamically – a sustainable practice that we have followed now for nearly a decade. Their farming efforts were recognised in 2013 when they received biodynamic certification from the NASAA group – the Australian and International Organic Certifier. Impressively, on their certified organic and biodynamic vineyards around the winery, no systemic chemicals or pesticides are used in their cultivation – only permitted organic and biodynamic inputs and preparations.
Nose - Lemon Rind, Pear, Gooseberry
Fragrant gooseberry, lime and fresh herbs combine with riper notes of pear, green melon and passionfruit.
Palate - Citrus, Stone Fruits, Fresh Acidity
Juicy citrus characters and zesty acidity combine with a subtle pithy texture to give a fresh, crisp mouthfeel in an approachable, easy-drinking style.
Finish - Cool, Light, Juicy
It’s clean, juicy and uncomplicated, and so it performs its duties without missing a beat.
The Finer Details
Style - White Wine
Varietal - Sauvignon Blanc
Country - Australia
Region - Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia
Vintage - 2023
Bottle Size - 750ml
ABV - 13%
