Why this Master of Wine choose McLaren Vale for his own vineyard

There is more than enough in Europe to ­occupy ‘Master of Wine’ David Gleave, so what was behind his decision to buy a vineyard and establish a label in South Australia’s McLaren Vale?

Willunga wines

David Gleave MW is a global citizen. He has the stateless accent and roving mind that gives it away. Canadian by birth and a Londoner by choice, Gleave became a Master of Wine in 1986 and established Liberty Wines a decade later, building it to become one of the UK’s leading wine distributors, offering a collection particularly deep in Italian wines, reflecting his standing as a leading authority on that country’s complex vinous tapestry.

There is more than enough in Europe to ­occupy Gleave, so his decision to buy a vineyard and establish a label in McLaren Vale was driven by motivations stronger than proximity and convenience. Gleave knows this part of the world well, and the calibre of Australian producers in the Liberty portfolio backs that up.

The choice of McLaren Vale was deliberate. Gleave felt the region was underappreciated in the UK at the time he started looking for a vineyard two decades ago. Its evolution into a label with a primary focus on grenache was more a matter of fate dishing out benign blessings.

The initial plan was to make the classic shiraz-cabernet blend and a co-fermented shiraz-viognier of the style ascendant at the time. But as he wandered through the Vale he kept noticing patches of old vine grenache, seemingly forgotten. “Nobody wants those,” he was told. But the potential was just about to boom, and now, with grenache arguably the hottest thing in Australian wine, the decision to establish Willunga 100 in 2005 and further consolidate with the purchase of Blind Spot vineyard in Blewitt Springs in 2019 has proved prescient. These three single-vineyard wines are made much the same way – open fermenters, gentle extractions and 10 months on lees, entirely in stainless steel for fruit purity and clarity – allowing the story of site to come through like a clarion call. It’s a call well worth hearing.

Willunga wines

2023 WILLUNGA 100 ‘BLIND SPOT’ GRENACHE

$65

Planted in 1968 on pure Maslin sands in Blewitt Springs. This is grenache in its lifted, floral, fragrant pomp. It’s the open-armed and effusive one of the trio. Ripe, juicy raspberries; sage and wild thyme too. There’s a supple juiciness at play here, the exuberance disciplined by granular tannins.

14.5% alcohol, 95 points

2023 WILLUNGA 100 ‘SMART VINEYARD’ GRENACHE

$65

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.

14% alcohol, 96 points

2023 WILLUNGA 100 ‘TROTT VINEYARD’ GRENACHE

$65

Planted in 1952 close to Blind Spot but at slightly higher elevation, its ancient sands sitting over a limestone base. The fruit is plumper; dark raspberry and cherry, plus some blood sausage meatiness. It’s lean and athletic through the palate, crouched like a stalking lion, all rippling muscle and fast-twitch fibres.

14.5% alcohol, 96 points