Thistledown, She's Electric Single Vineyard Old Vine Grenache, McLaren Vale, South Australia, Australia, 2022

Producer Profile

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.

Viticulture

Some vineyards have a remarkable story to tell and Thistledown came upon such a vineyard in late 2016. At the Seaview end of Chapel Hill Rd, it’s old bush vines contrasted by a planting of much younger Grenache. Apparently, half of the vineyard was burned when a bird caught light on a power line, fell to the ground and set light to the vineyard! They were so glad that some of the amazing old vines are still there for them to use. Dry grown, old bush vines, grown on red-brown sandy loams with quartz and ironstone. Low intervention viticulture with minimal spray regime, cover crops and promotion of biodiversity.

Winemaking

The fruit was hand-picked early in the morning before swift transport to the winery where they retained 50% whole bunches. A gentle foot pressing helped establish the wild ferment. Once fermented, the wine was transferred to 300 litre used French oak hogsheads where it stayed for 8 months before being bottled unfined and unfiltered.

Oak Ageing

Time: 8 Months
Type: French 300l oak hogshead
% wine oaked: 100
% new oak: None

Tasting Note

Aromatic and lifted on the nose with a beautifully layered, textural palate with wild strawberry and spice.

Food Matching

North African and Middle eastern cuisine or robust fish dishes.

Awards

The Wine Front 93 Points
Rich, ironstone/ferrous thing, raspberry, cherry, hazelnut and carob, lots of flesh and tannin, fruit is more on the down low, maybe a little lacking in the mid-palate, but the earthy/choc/ferrous things are the main driver here. Still, distinctive and very good. 93 Points, GW, 2023.
Halliday Wine Companion 94 Points
Dry-grown old bush vines. The norm. This time, in Seaview. Lower elevation. Reddish sandy loams littered with quartz and ironstone. This has greater concentration than the Vagabond grenache, yet without quite the detail or saveur. Damson plum and marasca cherry. Anise, thyme, menthol and lavender. A tad drying. A delicious wine of an expansive mid-palate, intensity of fruit and prodigious length, yet without the translucent pinosity and levity despite the alcohol and oomph that marks the very best examples of grenache from the Vale. 94 Points, NG(MW), 2023.
Huon Hooke The Real Review, 96 Points
Deep, bright purple-red colour; a gently scented bouquet of raspberry and blackcurrant pastilles, fringed with subtle spices. The wine is full bodied and there are ample fine-grained tannins that impart pleasing structure and contribute to its length. A very smart grenache that will age well but can also be enjoyed young. 96 Points, HH, 2023.
Robert Parkers Wine Advocate 95 Points.
The 2022 She's Electric Old Vine Single Vineyard Grenache features 50% whole bunches in the wild ferment, but it doesn't smell or feel more bunchy than the others, showing a sensitive approach to winemaking suited to individually fit the vineyard sites. Cool. On the nose, there is Valencia orange, raspberry coulis, cumin seeds, saffron, licorice and wet asphalt/ozone. This is gritty and savory in the mouth, more earthy than some of the others, but I do love that about it—it gives some savory yin to the sweet yang. The wine lingers in a lavender/ylang yang way, floral and petal-y. Lovely plus. 14.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap. 95 Points, EL, September 2023.
Decanter 96 Points
Intensity from old-vine fruit meshes with a hum of acidity. Lifted aromas of musk and Turkish delight lead to flavours of wild strawberry, amplified by 50% whole bunches. Comforting for its plush mouthfeel and challenging for its sharp fruit tang, spiky minerality and spice. 96 Points, DS, 2024.