Thistledown The Cunning Plan Shiraz 2023
The resulting wine has the characteristic McLaren Vale perfume and spice with a beguiling texture and perfume that unfolds, layer by layer.
“From McLaren Flat, matured in mainly seasoned French oak, with 10% new. Tart boysenberry and black cherry, wild raspberry, anise, faint vanilla bean, a little pepper, roasted coffee bean, some light floral notes, violet and the like. Like last year, there’s an effortlessness about this wine, a mid-weighted ease and supple texture, its composure and flow quietly compelling.”
95 Points – Halliday Wine Companion (Marcus Ellis)
“The 2023 Cunning Plan Shiraz is vibrant, high-toned and floral, with attractive red and purple fruits, energetic acid and tannins that feel embossed into the very experience. It’s cracking value for the money ($32 AUD/$21 USD/19 euros) and eloquently expresses McLaren Vale, most importantly. 14.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.”
92 Points – Wine Advocate (Erin Larkin)
From 4 separate, old, dry grown, bush trained vineyards in the revered Blewitt Springs district of McLaren Vale, planted in deep sands with some ironstone. The fruit was all hand-picked and about 2/3 was then wild fermented in a concrete pyramid which had layers of whole bunches and alternating layers of crushed fruit. This ferment had no mechanical extraction. The balance was wild fermented in an open fermenter with 35% whole
bunches, and was hand plunged twice daily. This portion was aged in puncheons while the pyramid fermented was pressed back to a concrete egg and oak puncheons for maturation. The resulting layers of complexity and depth of flavor are exactly what was aimed for. Racked from there into blending tank and then straight to bottle, unfined and unfiltered. A mere 3833 bottles were produced.
