‘The bones are perfect’: Penfolds cellar ready for its next pour

It’s not every day a piece of Australia’s wine story comes to market.

Part time capsule, part architect’s daydream, 20 Penfold Way is a half-buried beauty in the heart of McLaren Vale – still wearing its crimson stains from vintages past, settled coolly into the hillside and hiding an underground chamber.

How coveted is its fabric? “One renowned winemaker around here would always say, ‘I want to buy that stairwell!’” owner Michael Armstrong recalled to realcommercial.com.au, and another even offered serious money to take it home.  

Originally known as the “Willows Winery” and built from local ironstone in 1901, it later became the only winery that Penfolds have ever owned in McLaren Vale. Picture: realestate.com.au

Tucked behind McLaren Vale’s main street, this 1901 ironstone cellar once belonged to Penfolds and saw the legendary Max Schubert (creator of Grange) at work. Today it’s a historical marvel awaiting its next visionary.

Listing agent Nick van Vliet calls it “Raiders of the Lost Ark meets Grand Designs,” and he’s not exaggerating. Step through its storied timber doors and you’re met with six monumental wine vats, each around four metres high.

Van Vliet imagines them transformed into ensuited bedrooms, “wine buffs could literally sleep where Schubert worked,” Mr van Vliet laughed.

The spiral staircase. Picture: realestate.com.au

Below, a 50,000-litre underground space (once a water tank) runs almost the width of the building. “There’s as much below ground as above,” Mr van Vliet said. And with the cellar’s soaring clearance, the envelope lends itself to a two-storey dwelling inside the existing volume.

For Mr Armstrong, imagination was the whole point.

“Back when it was still a working winery, I’d walk through and think, one day someone’s got to turn this into a home and keep the dream alive,” he said.

“When we finally bought it, we stripped back the render to reveal the ironstone – we wanted the building to breathe again.”

The Bluestone structure has been built into the hillside,

Built into the hillside, the cellar, which has residential zoning, holds a near-constant 22 degrees year-round.

“No matter the season, it’s calm in there,” Mr Armstrong said. “It’s like it’s air-conditioned by the land.”

Even Heritage SA has been supportive of its modernisation: approving skylights, solar panels and an adjoining contemporary wing as part of a staged conversion, should the next custodian wish to expand.

They were also notably reasonable on the internals: the brief was to retain just two of the original wine vats – the owners planned one as a dramatic circular library with a new internal stair rising to a four-bedroom mezzanine, and the other as a bathroom – with a third imagined as a plunge pool.

“Heritage were even comfortable with a secondary roof being added above the existing corrugated-iron roof, so the original could be showcased as an interior feature ceiling,” he said.

The original ceiling could be showcased as an interior feature ceiling. Picture: realestate.com.au

Inside, the scale surprises everyone. “Photos don’t give it away,” Mr Armstrong said.

“There’s scope for a full second level, think a mezzanine spanning the space.”

The owners’ concept sketched four bedrooms within the volume while still leaving over a third of the building open-plan for living, dining and circulation.

“Because the bones are already here, the fit-out isn’t as daunting as people think.”

His own full conversion quote came in under $750k. “With this place, the only limit is your imagination – the bones are perfect,” Mr Armstrong said.

The property sits in the heart of McLaren Vale, one of SA’s most iconic wine regions. Picture: realestate.com.au

Beyond the cellar doors, the address is pure McLaren Vale magic – cafés fifty metres away, cellar doors and restaurants a short stroll, yet silence the moment you step inside.

“You’re in the heart of town,” Mr van Vliet said, “but it feels like you’ve dropped underground into another world.”

Whether it becomes a Grand Designs-worthy residence, a luxury B&B or a sculptural retreat for wine buffs, one thing’s certain: this ironstone treasure is ready for its next chapter of life.

The iconic property is listed for $750,000.