2024 Clay Pot Wines Pyrrha
“Pyrrha, the red-headed daughter of Pandora, threw stones over her shoulder to create life again after the great deluge.”
Pyrrha is a unique hand crafted wine made using ancient winemaking methods that are still practiced in some parts of Europe today. She also represents a very personal winemaking ‘journey’ of her Winemaker Glenn James. It’s all about letting go!
Due to the catastrophic bushfires in our region in 2020 this release of Pyrrha is made using Sagrantino, sourced from the Chalmer’s vineyard in Heathcote. Sagrantino is renowned for firm tannins and great mid palate weight. For these reasons it was chosen to replace the Saperavi that was lost to smoke taint in the Alpine Valleys. In Greek mythology, Pyrrha was indeed the red headed daughter of Pandora. In fact, Pyrrha is an ancient Greek word for the colour red, (we have words in English today that reflect this…like pyrotechnics and pyrite).
As with Pandora’s Amphora, Pyrrha is a wine that is hand harvested and then fermented in a single terracotta ‘Amphora’.
Fermentation occurs using only the ‘indigenous’ yeast from the vineyard’s own terroir. Once fermentation is complete Pyrrha is then sealed up and her precious contents matured on the skins and seeds for around 200 days. All the flavours and many other grape derived compounds produced by the vines each season in the presence of fermentation lees (yeast and malolactic bacteria) are slowly extracted and transformed during this period to produce a complex savoury red wine with long silky tannins.
Pyrrha is then gently basket pressed and it is only at this point that the wine has a small addition of sulphur dioxide to preserve all that has been captured. The wine is then matured on light yeast lees for twelve months in a French puncheon (500L oak barrel).
Bottling occurs after careful racking, without any filtration or the use of fining agents.
Technical Details
Reviews
"Wild fermented in terracotta amphora, more than 200 days on skins, basket pressed, aged in old puncheon, unfiltered. In case you were wondering, Pyrrha (derived from the Greek 'pyrrhos' meaning fiery or red) was the daughter of Pandora. Can't say this is especially fiery, but it is most definitely a velvety, generous, complex red that gives the Georgian variety due deference. Deep purple hues. Inky, dark-fruited aromas, deep spice, earth, briar and licorice. It's still tightly formed and dense, dressed in beautifully honed, firm tannins that range long and taut." Awarded 95 points, Halliday Wine Companion, Jeni Port - Published 21 July 2026