"Not your average Shiraz! On the nose there are peaches, ripe nectarine, wild raspberry and a little spice. The palate is soft and slurpy, the texture silky and any tannins just add a little seasoning – like macerated strawberries and black pepper. Turning a previously undervalued resource into something that is hugely enjoyable and ultimately gorgeous. Shiraz 86%, Zibibbo 11%, Fiano 3%
James Halliday 90 Points
All Riverland fruit, with a heritage property supplying the shiraz. A dollop of old-vine zibibbo and a smidgeon of fiano were co-fermented, serving lift and perfume. This has some throaty warmth to it, yet the extraction regime was clearly whole-berry gentle, so easy is this to drink. Mindless, in the very best way. It avoids the bane of excessive reduction, ploughing cinnamon stick, clove, cardamon, bergamot and bing cherry lines across a drift of gentle tannic grip. Chilling this is imperative. 90 Points, NG (MW), 2023."
Masters of Wine, Giles Cooke & Fergal Tynan, founded Thistledown Wines in 2010 after discovering iconic vineyard sites in the McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley and Adelaide Hills. They make hand-made, small batch wines that perfectly illustrate the benefits of great sites and intelligent, minimalist winemaking.
This Shiraz was all picked from one old vineyard in the Riverland, a property that has been growing grapes since the early soldier settlements. Fermented using wild yeasts. A short ageing in old French oak followed by bottling young to preserve the hugely aromatic, textural deliciousness that we sought from the outset.
