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- Willunga 100’s 2023 McLaren Vale Grenache has won a trio of top honours at the 2025 National Wine Show.
- The red wine secured the Grenache Trophy, Best Red Wine of Show, and the Prime Minister’s Trophy.
- Willunga 100 expression was sourced from its own estate vineyard in Blewitt Springs.
- The Grenache’s win marks the first time the variety has won in the show’s 50-year history.
Who said cheap wine can’t be grandiose? In a stunning upset that has shocked the domestic wine market, a $30 Grenache from McLaren Vale has been named ‘Best in Show’ at the National Wine Show. The 2023 McLaren Vale Grenache from South Australian producer Willunga 100 claimed the event’s top honour, marking the first time that the variety has won in the show’s 50-year history, but it wasn’t done there. In addition to taking out the top prize, the 2023 vintage also nabbed the Grenache Trophy and the Prime Minister’s Trophy, cementing its place amongst the drinks industry’s most awarded red wine releases.
The brainchild of chief winemaker Renae Hirsch and Willunga 100 founder and director David Gleave, the 2023 Grenache is a true ode to South Australian terroir. The drop is made from fruit grown at Willunga 100’s own Blind Spot Vineyard in Blewitt Springs, a site that the wine producer claims is prized for its more than 60-year-old dry-grown bush vines and deep sandy soils. According to Gleve, who co-founded Willunga 100 in 2005, the latest accolade is proof that great Australian winemaking starts at the vines.
“The win is a tremendous result as it vindicates the vineyard-driven approach we have adopted,” Gleave told Man of Many. “It is about growing good grapes and then guiding the winemaking with what Renae calls a ‘light-touch’ to ensure we capture the flavours of the grapes in the finished wine. The judges’ recognition that we have achieved this has given us a huge lift in recognition. We could never have achieved this without the award, so it is a huge gift.”
For Gleave and co, the introduction of organic production continued the label’s long-standing approach to contemporary winemaking. Since opening in 2005, Willunga 100 has become synonymous with premium Grenache from McLaren Vale, a category that was previously thought to be undervalued.
“Given the work that goes into managing our vineyard in Blewitt Springs, we think the value the wine offers is remarkable,” Gleave explains. “The vines are 50 to 60 years old, dry-grown, bush-trained and hand-pruned and picked. The sandy soils of Blewitt Springs result in low yields. In any other part of the world, this wine would be significantly more expensive.”
Integrations such as its Single Vineyard range, sourced from two distinguished sites in the Blewitt Springs and Clarendon sub-regions, have helped to establish the brand as a true industry innovator, but success hasn’t shifted the goal. The label continues to focus primarily on low-intervention winemaking, with chief winemaker Renae Hirsch describing the latest win as a testament to the process.
“To receive the Grenache Trophy, Best Red of Show, and the Prime Minister’s Trophy all in one year is credit to the work we do in the vineyard and the winery,” Hirsch said. “This is a single-vineyard wine from Blewitt Springs that retails for $30, and the awards reinforce our belief in the potential of this variety and its ability to deliver wines of elegance, depth, and regional expression.”
Open only to wines which have won gold or silver medals at other regional shows, The National Wine Show remains one of the country’s leading wine exhibitions. According to the event organisers, entrants are judged by a panel of respected wine professionals and critics, with previous winners of the Prime Minister’s Trophy including Yarra Yerring 2021 Underhill Shiraz in 2023, and Murdoch Hill 2022 Rocket Chardonnay in 2024.
The award-winning 2023 McLaren Vale Grenache is available for just $30 via the official Willunga 100 website and through selected fine wine retailers. Tastings are also available at the Grenache Room, situated in the restored Moritz family cottage at the Blind Spot Vineyard. This immersive experience is described by Willunga 100 as “dedicated solely to exploring Grenache in all its forms”.
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