Thistledown wines narrate the stories and harness the energy of South Australia's iconic vineyard sites to hand-craft detailed, pure & precise Grenache, Shiraz & Chardonnay. Since 2011 Thistledown has hand-made delicious, energetic wines – all sourced from iconic vineyard sites in the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, and the Adelaide Hills. We are founded by two Masters of Wine, Giles Cooke MW, and Fergal Tynan MW, whose vision is to make small-batch wines reflecting their personality and that of the ‘place’ and growers. At our winery in the Adelaide Hills, our focus is on crafting premium, small-batch, low-intervention wines from sites that we believe are special. It's no secret that we're obsessed with Grenache, particularly the old vine, dry-grown stuff in McLaren Vale and Barossa. We’ve been gathering the very best selection of Grenache sites in Australia and have become an authority on Australian Grenache and its ‘Grand Cru’ capability. We were awarded Best Grenache in Australia in Halliday Wine Companion 2022 and hold a Halliday 5 red star rating, and The Real Review 'Top Wineries of Australia'.

Fruit for Thorny Devil comes from a variety of some of the finest vineyards in McLaren Vale. Old bush-trained vines and sandy, mineral-strewn vineyards ensure that this is amongst our most delicious Grenaches. Characteristic McLaren Vale perfume and spice with a beguiling texture and perfume that unfolds, layer by layer. Thorny Devil comes from a variety of sites, all of which have in common that they are old, bush-trained, and dry-grown. With Grenache, we are always looking to maximise fruit purity, texture, and finesse and do so through earlier picking, selection of blocks within the vineyard, and a detailed understanding of each site and how it reacts to the season. The fruit was hand-picked from a variety of sites, all of which were vinified separately with up to 30% whole bunches retained in the ferment. Fermentation began naturally and hand plunging twice a day was carried out through to dryness. Gently pressed off skins before 10 months in old oak hogsheads.