It is well known that South Australia is unrivaled in its Grenache, Shiraz, and Chardonnay. Gorgeous Shiraz from Thistledown Wine Co is an irrefutable proof of this and if you read the information that follows you will have no doubts. Exuberant fruit, intensity, and silky texture put it on our list of favorite New World wines and the 90pts from Ned Goodwin MW (
JamesSuckling.com) push it to the top!
Thistledown Wine Co was created in 2010 by two Englishmen, who while academically had nothing to do with wine, eventually became the best of the genre. Both were historians, but they still had something in common. Just before starting the first year of teaching for Master of Wine in 1998, they met by chance in a bar and this would eventually be their first meeting, to create a very special project. After winning the MW title, they worked selling wine all over the world, but something always drew them to Australia. The reputation that Australian wine had at the time (strong and very alcoholic) and the difficulty they faced in getting them on the best restaurant lists, was the reason they set out to change this image and they did it very methodically. They identified the best vineyards in the McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley, and Adelaide Hills regions and only worked with growers who followed strict sustainable practices to produce the minimum yield per acre, yet ensure the highest quality grape. Thistledown Wine Co has become a member of Sustainable Wine Growing Australia and all their wines are Vegetarian and Vegan certified.
Gorgeous Shiraz is a very special blend that you don't often come across and it is made up of 86% Shiraz, 11% Zibibbo (the well-known Muscat of Alexandria), and 3% Fiano, from the first vines planted in the Riverland. The Shiraz was fermented with wild yeasts with Zibibbo and matured in old French oak barrels, which gave unusual aromas and intensity to the wine, before the final blending with Fiano and bottling.
Thistledown is the flower of the thistle, which initially appears hard and rough, while inside it hides the purity and caress of elegance and velvety texture. This name was not given by chance and all you have to do is check it yourself. You will certainly be impressed!
