Thistledown She’s Electric Grenache 2021
Some vineyards have a remarkable story to tell and we came upon such a vineyard in late 2016. At the Seaview end of Chapel Hill Rd, its 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! We were so glad that some of the amazing old vines are still there for us to use.
Aromatic and lifted on the nose with a beautifully layered, textural palate with wild strawberry and spice.
96 points James Halliday, Ned Goodwin MW – “the Vagabond is superlative, but this is extraordinary! The tannins, taut, febrile and wound across a spool of sage, thyme and blood orange zest. The drive of cherry, rhubarb and Mediterranean herb is palate staining, without ever reneging on its sandy, vibrant and effortless hand. Incredibly complex. Scintillating length. Kerpow!”
95 points – Wine Advocate
95 points – The Real Review (Huon Hooke)
Rare is the vintage that combines good yields and high quality but 2021 was just that. A remarkable vintage in that it was once again pandemic affected but that it was measured and mild with none of the heat spikes or drought conditions of recent years. With good levels of winter rains filling soil profiles, the mild weather with intermittent
rains throughout the growing and ripening season ensured that fruit ripened over a long period of time and the vintage was one of the longest in recent history. The results are spectacular, healthy fruit, moderate sugars and complex flavours, have resulted in wines of beautiful balance, fragrance and varietal typicity.
The fruit was hand-picked early in the morning of 9th March before swift transport to the winery where we 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 6 months before being bottled unfined and unfiltered.
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.
100% Grenache
Alcohol: 14.5%
Total Acidity: 5.26 g/l
pH: 3.87
Residual Sugar: 1 g/l
SO2: 78 mg/l
Fining: None
Vegan: Yes
Vegetarian: Yes
