The Absconder Grenache

Five Spice pork belly with satsuma plum chutney.

Seasoned French oak puncheons (500L) up to ten years old.

Fruit was hand-picked towards the end of harvest, as grenache achieves optimal fruit flavour and tannin maturity later in the ripening season. At the winery, grapes were then gently crushed and destemmed to two-tonne open fermentation vessels, some of which had a small component of whole bunches. Ferments lasted around nine days, through this time fruit was hand plunged and pumped over to extract the desired level of tannin, colour and flavour. After 15 to 16 days on skins, wines were basked pressed to stainless steel and on the completion of primary fermentation, filled to seasoned French oak puncheons. After nine months on malo lees in oak, select barrels were blended to tank, lightly fined and filtered in the leadup to bottling.

The ironstone cellars of Wirra Wirra house a history rich in mischief, adventure and dedication to creating great wines. The winery was built in 1894 by an eccentric former state cricketer, who absconded to McLaren Vale after embarrassing his family one too many times. It was re-built in the late 1960's by a visionary who dreamt of returning Wirra Wirra to its former glory. Greg Trott did more than that, he created a legacy of being dedicated to your craft while being equally serious about having fun and enjoying life.