Thistledown Sands of Time Grenache 2022

Early on in our Grenache journey, we were introduced to Sue Trott’s Home Block in the Blewitt Springs sub-region of McLaren Vale. It’s beautiful aspect, raised elevation and free-draining deep sandy soils are the perfect spot for dry-grown bush-vine Grenache and we were so lucky to be offered the opportunity to purchase a little fruit. Some years on and we have learned a little about the site and refined our picking decisions and vinification to the extent that from 2017 we were content that we could do the site justice by bottling separately.

Thistledown Wine Company works with a unique blend of unrivalled fruit sources and the experience of both the New and the Old Worlds, lent by our 2 Masters of Wine. We craft wines of subtlety, texture, and detail – wines a long way down the path to perfect balance. Best known as one of the leaders of the contemporary Grenache movement, Thistledown Wines make small batch Grenache, Shiraz, and Chardonnay from McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley, and the Adelaide Hills. Alongside Wild & Wilder Wines, benchmark regional varietals and Mediterranean blends, and Millions Suns, sustainably certified wines from The Riverland, we produce world-class wines with quality, value, and sustainability at their core.

Sourced from one 75-year-old vineyard, he bush-trained vines on pure sand to yield a wine of immense purity and power that is both light and intense at the same time. Highly aromatic with notes of sandalwood, dried orange, violets, and wood spice on the nose, it follows through to a palate that is paradoxically elegant and vibrant but concentrated and persistent. Silky smooth with a glossy, highly attractive palate of wild strawberry, violets, and the merest hint of cinnamon and wood smoke. Achingly beautiful but deliciously drinkable all at once.