Vinya Vella, Barossa

Dylan Grigg has built his career on being a specialist on growing and maintaining old vines. His deep knowledge of the subject, in which he holds a PhD, has seen Dylan work with producers across the world, advising on vineyard management and technical viticulture.

Dylan was introduced to us by our close friend and only other non-European winemaker, Mac Forbes. The pair go back a long time and Dylan even worked with Mac, adding knowledge of winemaking to his expertise in viticulture. Having spent many years abroad, Dylan has returned home to the Barossa Valley in South Australia where he’s taken over the reins of a small vineyard called Vinya Vella which means “old vineyard” in Catalan – a homage, Dylan says, to the old Grenache vines in Spain where he developed a love for the variety.

Vinya Vella is a small parcel, just under 6 hectares, 4 of which have old vines. These vines are very old in fact, dating back to before 1900. Historical documents estimate that the original and oldest vines in the vineyard could be 130 years or older. There are only 7.6 hectares of Grenache vines older than 125 years in Australia – Vinya Vella is home to 4 of these hectares.

The site is located on the eastern edge of the valley, below the slopes of the higher Eden Valley. It is the area’s soils and mesoclimate, Dylan says, that have supported many of the vines to live to such an age. All the fruit is sourced from this site and it is almost entirely managed by Dylan himself with the help of his father, Paul.

The bush vines are hand pruned with vines shoot-thinned in the spring for structure with careful plucking of leaves, but only on the eastern and southern sides to expose the fruit to early morning sun and airflow. Dylan is meticulous with the fruit, hand-picking and carefully selecting vines with ideal balance, and utilising his scientific background to measure the fruit for the desired ripeness.