Thistledown- Sands Of Time Grenache
Country: Australia Region: McLaren Vale
Varietal: Grenache Vintage: 2022
Colour: Red Style: Dry
Producer: Thistledown
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.
Winemaking 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 un-fined and unfiltered 10 months later.
- BEST GRENACHE IN AUSTRALIA (97 points) Halliday Wine Companion
- 96 points - Tyson Stelzer, Wine Business Magazine
- 96 Points - Huon Hooke, The Real Review
- 95+ Points - Gary Walsh, The Wine Front
- 95 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
- 95 Points - Nick Stock, JamesSuckling.com
- 95 Points - Gourmet Traveller Wine
- 95 Points - Vinous
- 17pts - Jancis Robinson
- 24 Vinous Highlights of 2020 - Sarah Ahmed
Robert Parkers The Wine Advocate 97+ Points
"Hooley dooley. Good. This 2021 Sands of Time Old Vine Single Vineyard Grenache shows Grenache in its best light; when the fruit is buoyant, succulent, airy and spicy, but also when it has been compressed and screwed down into place by gossamer fine tannins. This is tight yet expansive, classy yet exciting: a wine of amalgam's and complexity. So what does it taste like? First, raspberry leaf tea, red licorice, berry coulis... then blood, ferrous and iodine seep into the edges and drag with them licorice, pink peppercorn, hung deli meat and a whiff of blackberry pie. It finishes slender, with graphite and quartz. The cooler year has exposed a fine framework of ripe, whippy tannins, which hold the fruit in place—ever-present yet invisible. What a wine."
James Suckling 94 Points
"Aromas of baked cherry and strawberry, white pepper and rosemary stem. Full-bodied with powdery tannins. Spicy and juicy on the palate, with an array of ground spices. Coriander, paprika and clove. Red licorice and elderberry as well. Very good intensity and concentration."
Tasting Note: A faithful expression of the site – beautiful, haunting aromatics, fine sandy tannins and wonderful, memorable length on the palate.
Food Pairing
A great match for many Asian-style dishes as long as they aren’t too spicy.
