Thistledown Sands Of Time Old Vine Grenache 2022
2022 vintage followed in much the same vein as the much-lauded 2021. A little later than normal but the season was characterised by regular moderate rainfall, friendly temperatures and an elongated ripening period which allowed for an even spread of fruit over the harvesting period. The wines are characterised by balanced, aromatic fruit profiles, lovely energy and silky tannins which give a capacity for both youthful exuberance and ageing.
96 points – Halliday Wine Companion
96 points – The Wine Front
Hand-picked, on the way up, we vinify naturally in concrete and place whole bunches alternately with de-stemmed fruit to create a layer cake. A very gentle, slow fermentation is followed by maturation in oak and concrete before a careful selection is done, which is then bottled unfined and unfiltered 10 months later.
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.
Sourced from one 75 year old vineyard, the bush trained vines on pure sand yield up a wine of immense purity and power that is both light and intense at the same time.
