Gary and Robyn Farr purchased the original property in 1994 and the second section in 1998, this latter had been untouched for almost 40 years and consisted of dense boxthorn and noxious weeds. The final piece of the puzzle, which links the two blocks of land, was purchased by Nick and Cassie Farr in 2011, making a total of 130 acres, of which 36 acres are under vine and the remainder is maintained as grazing and cropping for cattle and horses. With a mixture of different clones and rootstocks, the grape varieties grown here are viognier, chardonnay, pinot noir, gamay and shiraz.

The Sangreal vineyard was planted in 1994, making it our oldest vineyard. It lies on a north-facing slope and the soil composition is bluestone and overlaying limestone, with red ironstone colouring the surface. 

Sangreal is consistently made with 70 per cent whole bunch and aged in 70 percent new oak. It is fermented in a five-tonne oak barrel with an open-top fermenter, and cold soaked for four days before a natural fermentation of seven to nine days. Once the cap falls, the tank is pressed. The wine is racked only once after malolactic fermentation, then sulphured and bottled, the entire process taking a total of 18 months. The wine is unfined and unfiltered in order to retain its natural flavour and bouquet. Sangreal is the most seamless and perfumed of the three single-vineyard pinots.

Tasting Notes

"The By Farr team is completely unafraid of (anything, really, but most especially) tannin and firmness, thanks to inherent confidence in, and knowledge of, the fact that it serves their wines so well. This wine is an excellent case in point, its twiggy herb, undergrowth, and smoky-sweet oak flavours combine beautifully with sweet, convincing red and black cherry flavours, the whole then commandingly pulled together by firm, dry, ripe tannin. This is a truly beautiful wine, pinned to the spot in the best of ways." 96 Points - Halliday Wine Companion, Campbell Mattinson (2023).