History

The then school teachers selected the 100 acre Wilyabrup property on Harmans Mill Road, in 1972 realising the exceptional suitability of the terroir and location for viticulture.

This beautiful & prestigious part of the Margaret River wine region in the south-west of Western Australia is characterised by a Mediterranean climate with maritime influences.

Margaret River is world renowned for consistently producing premium wines with alluring aromatics, intense flavours and elegant structure.

The name Willespie was derived from the region of Wilyabrup and the French word, espérer, to hope.

The forty five years of hard work and dedication taken to build the Willespie ‘Wilyabrup hope’, is a true credit to the founders, Kevin and Marian Squance.

The Wilyabrup estate was established in 1976 with the purchase of 40 hectares on Harman’s Mill Road, and subsequently planted with vines. Today, the Wilyabrup estate has 18 hectares under vine consisting of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Chardonnay and Verdelho.

All the vines on the estate are non-irrigated, relying on the typical two metres of annual rainfall to irrigate over the dry summers. The 40-year old dry grown vines are known to produce Willespie’s complex wines with qualities to allow aging.  

The Dawson Gully estate at Kaloorup, approximately10km from Wilyabrup, was purchased in 1997 and subsequently planted with Shiraz and Merlot.

In 1998, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc were planted and today a total of seven hectares are under vine. All the vines on this estate are non-irrigated, relying on the annual rainfall to irrigate over the dry summers.

The Squance children, the next generation, take on the commitment to keep the dream alive and ensure Willespie continues to maintain its prestigious reputation as one of Wilyabrup’s premium boutique wine producers.

In 2025, the Squance family chose to hand the reins to a new Western Australian family.