Marco Cirillo blends legacy, passion and purpose with the help of some seriously old Barossa vines

Some time back a friend graciously gifted me a bottle of wine from a label I had only a distant familiarity with. A quick glance at the bottle set my mind racing. It was a Grenache crafted from Barossa vines over 150 years old—an 1850 Ancestor Vine Grenache from Cirillo Wine Estate in the Barossa Valley’s Nuriootpa sub-region.

A brief dive into the history of Cirillo Estate revealed that the winery is the custodian of some of the oldest surviving vines in the Barossa. In the 1970s, the Cirillo family relocated to Light Pass in the Barossa Valley, where they inherited and began working with ancient vines—some as old as 170 years—that miraculously survived the Great Australian Vine Pull of the 1980s.

Naturally, I set out to track down the elusive Marco Cirillo, elusive because he is perpetually engrossed in the daily demands of the winery. Whether tending the vines, crafting wines, or driving sales, Marco is the force behind nearly every facet of Cirillo Estate. What I discovered was a family man of Calabrian descent, part of a lineage with over 400 years of winemaking tradition in Southern Italy. It’s no surprise that Marco was destined to become a winemaker. And if over 400 years of wine making pedigree were not enough, Marco is married to Annika Lehmann (the Lehmann name needing no introduction in Australian wine circles). She is Marco’s driving force, supporting him in every aspect of the business and doing what Marco describes as the “smart stuff” behind the scenes.

What strikes me most about Marco is how much he avoids the spotlight. It took quite some time to pin him down, but when you ask him a question, you get a straightforward answer—sometimes delivered with both barrels. Marco acknowledges that his directness can be mistaken for arrogance, but he views it as a reflection of his passion for wine and a deliberate effort to tune out the noise of wine politics and undue criticism.

The Cirillo brand has recently ignited global interest, especially following its success at the 2024 Vinous Icons event in New York City, where Marco’s Grenache became a talking point. Marco’s philosophy is to let his viticulture and winemaking speak for themselves, and it seems this approach is yielding significant rewards. I was fortunate to have Marco join me on the Cellar Door Podcast, where he shared his personal journey, insights on working with some of the world’s oldest Grenache and Semillon vines, the Barossa Old Vine Charter, and his overall winemaking philosophy. A heartfelt thank you to Marco for taking the time to join me.