This is the latest release from Thistledown, a collaboration between Giles Cooke, Fergal Tynan and Peter Leske, based in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia. Suilven is a beautifully packaged, sophisticated Chardonnay with potential for development, and this is its debut vintage.
Jamie Goode

Wine and Spirits Magazine, (US) Wineries to watch 2016

Thistledown is immensely proud to have been named as one of only twelve wineries to watch in the world in 2016 - and the only one from Australia.

Thistledown Australia

Classical Australian Wines with a Celtic Twist

Australian Thistle
The thistle may have been adopted by the Scots but its rugged exterior has made it hugely adaptable to a wide variety of climates and terrains. Our wines aim to capture both the rugged beauty of the thistle but also the delicate, fine textured core.
Basket Presses
The basket press is the time honoured way of treating venerable old vine fruit with the utmost of respect. It's a time consuming, labour intensive approach but one which is gentle and extracts only the very best juice.
The Thistledown Team
Giles Cooke MW, Fergal Tynan MW Founders and Co-Conspirators and Winemaker Peter Leske are behind both the Thistledown and One Chain Vineyard Wines.
Peter Leske
Experimenting with Grenache in concrete eggs.
Grenache Grapes
Although they might be somewhat deluded in their belief that the world is just about to wake up to the delights of Grenache, Giles and Fergal's extensive travels throughout The Rhone and in Spain convinced them that with low yields and meticulous fruit sourcing, Grenache makes world class wine.
Chardonnay
Hand picked Chardonnay grapes about to be loaded into the press.

Ever since historic Scots, James Busby and John MacArthur founded the Australian wine industry in the early 19th century, the relationship between Scotland and Australia has been an enduring one. Guardians of this long history, Thistledown Wine Co. continues the tradition of Scottish ingenuity and great Australian wine.

From their small-batch winery in the idyllic Adelaide Hills, they work with pristine fruit sourced from iconic vineyard sites. Giles Cooke MW and Fergal Tynan MW, with the helping hand of Peter Leske, craft lithe, energetic wines that illustrate the benefits of great sites and intelligent, low-intervention winemaking. Giles and Fergal share a particular passion for Grenache and, in ever more detail, Thistledown continue to unpick the rich patchwork of South Australian Grenache - reassembling it in their own inimitable style. This unique blend of superb fruit sources and experience in both the New and the Old Worlds helps craft wine of subtlety, texture and detail - wines perfectly suited to complement rather than overwhelm fine food.

We Love

Hand-making delicious, joyful wines - all sourced from amazing vineyard sites in the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Adelaide Hills, Clare Valley & Langhorne Creek.

We Make

Small batch, hand-made wines from sites that we believe are special. We pick fruit on the way up rather than the way down so that we can do as little as possible to make the best wine.

We Support

Those who care for these great sites and amazing vineyard resources. We ensure that all of our relationships are profitable ones - in the broadest sense of the word.

Discover more about our Thistledown range.

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