Thorn Clarke Single Vineyard Grenache 2021

Alcohol: 13.5%

Grape(s): 100% Grenache

Localization: Barossa Valley, Australia

Tasting Notes: The wine is ruby in color with purple hues. Brimming with bright fruit notes of wild strawberries & cherry and backed up by subtle spice of white pepper. On the palate, the fruit continues with further notes of raspberries and plum with a hint of French oak. A juicy medium bodied red that has a delicate and complex finish.

Notes: This wine has had partial whole-bunch fermentation in 4-tonne open fermenters for a duration of 10 days on skins. The wine was then pressed off to 15% New French oak barrels and matured for 18 months before being racked for bottling. This wine has had no filtration.

The Domain: The Shotfire range honors a family pioneer who worked the Barossa goldfields in the late 1800s. He had the hazardous job of being a 'Shotfirer'; one who handled the explosives to find that rich gold vein.

The winery owners are David and Cheryl Clarke (born Thorn) and their son Sam is the manager of the winery. The Thorn-Clarke family has a long history in the Barossa - six generations of involvement in the region's world famous wine industry. The Thorns have been grape growers in the Barossa since the 1870's. David Clarke's passion for the wine industry lead to the planting of the Kabininge vineyard outside of Tanunda in 1987, which represents the start of a deeper involvement by the family in the Barossa wine industry. 

Thorn-Clarke Wines was launched in 2002 as a result of the 37-year marriage between David and Cheryl Clarke (nee Thorn). The Thorn family has grown vines in the Barossa since the 1870s and still proudly own and manage some of the oldest vineyards in the region.

The wine is another reward for geologist David Clarke and his family. The family has planted four diverse Barossa vineyards over the last 20 years, enabling them to blend wines grown from different terroirs, adding complexity and richness to the wine.

“When we started out 20 years ago I knew from my geological research that the varied Barossa geology and soil types offered us a broad palette to work with. Then when we started making trial blends in the 1990s it became clear that the vineyards complemented each other brilliantly and provided us with a new level of flavor complexity. We have blended to take advantage of these sub-regional and microclimatic characteristics.”

“Our philosophy is to over-deliver in terms of the quality we offer at each price level.  Wine lovers remember wines which are stunning value and we work hard to ensure that whether people buy the Sandpiper range at $15 or the Shotfire range at $23 they are drinking wines that are excellent value for money.” -David Clarke