KOONUNGA

Koonunga as a district is lost in time. In the Barossa’s very north, vineyards are sparce, but those that have survived in these very dry and hot conditions are some of the Barossa’s very best.

Very old vines, certainly Ancestor, probably significantly older but with little documentation it is a time capsule for how things were once done. The grapes are typically small, perhaps the smallest we receive into the winery year in year out. The result wine can be surprisingly elegant, perhaps due to the sandy soils, but the resultant wines age magnificently. In the early years, we got a mere barrel, but now, we receive the full production from the 3 acres or so of Ancestor Vines. Yield can be very low, sometimes nothing (such as 2025) but we treasure each and every berry in years like 2024 and 2026.