Gorgeous Old Vine Small Batch Handmade Shiraz

Thistledown Wines is the project of UK Masters of wine Giles Cooke & Fergal Tynan. They met in a bar the night before they started the first year of their Master of Wine course back in ’98. They later joined forces with an MW certificate each, a love of wine, a love of Australian wine and a determination to show the wine world that Australian wine could be more than big, alcoholic blockbuster reds unsuited to a changing taste across the world.

This is the label they call their Gorgeous Shiraz. It’s produced from old vine South Australian fruit, handmade in small batches and it’s, well, pretty gorgeous stuff! It’s also a little bit different from the rest with 11% of the blend being Zibbibo (also called Muscat) and a 3% dash of Fiano, co-fermented using wild yeasts.

As the boys themselves call it “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.”

It’s got the thumbs up from a handful of critics on both sides of the ditch…

90/100 (James Halliday’s Wine Companion)
“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.”

91/100 (Bob Campbell MW, The Real Review)
“Intense, silken-textured red with mellow chocolate/mocha, and ripe plum and dark cherry flavours. Impressive density and drinkability. A nicely balanced wine that’s ready to drink.”

90/100 (Stuart Knox, The Real Review)
“Bright ruby with a vibrant purple tone into the rim. Ultra fragrant with bright red and blue fruit, violets and liquorice all leaping from the glass. Slippery and gliding as it flows across the tongue with ample plump purple fruits and subtle dark spices along the journey. Tannins are silky and just caress the edges to a good length finish. A delicious drink now style.”

Don’t worry about laying this one down in the cellar – it’s been made to be enjoyed in the short term so slurp it up from now until 5-6 years from vintage.