We are very proud of the 3rd party endorsements for our wines. 

Wine Companion reports: “The Top 100 recognises and celebrates the very best producers of Australian wine right now. To be selected, Halliday must have reviewed each producer's wines within the last 12 months. From here, a 1100-long list became just over 450 wineries. Then, it came down to quality – quality had to be consistent across the range. These makers are the best of the best. They are names that resonate with excellence.” 

Thistledown is rated 29th. Read more at link.

It is wonderful to share more good news, this time in relation to the announcement of Halliday Wine Companion Top 100 Wines of 2024 - Australia's best wines.

Marcus Ellis had rated SANDS OF TIME SINGLE VINEYARD GRENACHE 2023, from Blewitt Springs, McLaren Vale as 97 points and a Special Value Star and it has now been included in the year's Top 100 wines.

Sands of Time Grenache has previously won the coveted Grenache of the Year accolade and consistently receives global praise. This new recognition really builds the reputation of this special, single site wine. It's consistency, and superior quality, firmly establishes Sands of Time as a benchmark wine for Blewitt Springs and importantly emphasises our position amongst the very best producers in Australia. As Marcus Ellis says: 'Based on the track record and the impeccable framing of fruit and site that’s already evident, this will grow amply in stature, and what an exciting prospect that is.'

We are pleased to announce that we have been selected as number one Grenache in this week's 'Top Australian Wines of 2024'.

Tyson Stelzer has highlighted Fool on the Hill Grenache 2022 as joint Grenache of the Year alongside Torbreck Vintners Les Amis 2021.⁠

⁠ 'An exciting newcomer for Thistledown, uniting two plots of relatively young bush vines planted by Joel Mattschoss in tough soils at 550 elevation in the Eden Valley, making this one of the highest grenache vineyards in the country. It was treated with the utmost sensitivity, fermented in concrete egg with 20% whole bunches and matured in seasoned French oak puncheons. In the mild 2022 season, it captures grenache’s cooler side in a sophisticated style that seamlessly unites varietal distinction with whole bunch exoticism. Pure, crunchy red berry fruit and dried herb and rhubarb complexity culminate in a spectacular fanfare of super-fine, confident tannins that will hold it sure for the long-haul. Benchmark. Just 1800 bottles. A worthy joint winner of my Grenache of the Year.'⁠ ⁠96 points

A link to the full, free to read article is available below. 

Thistledown Wines is the winner of the 2025 Halliday Wine Companion Grenache of the Year award and, in doing so, becomes the first winery to win the award twice.

In a poignant twist of fate, This Charming Man 2023 Old Vine Single Vineyard Grenache was sourced from fruit grown on Bernard Smart’s Clarendon vineyard, and the winning 2023 vintage was the last that he supervised.

This Charming Man was selected as ‘Grenache & Blends of the Year’ with the 98 point score, and special value star, awarded by the Halliday tasting panel at the annual Awards judging. Marcus Ellis writes:

“Dry-grown bush vines fruit from the legendary Smart vineyard in Clarendon. Fermented wild with 20% whole bunches, matured in French hogsheads. This is early on this wine, with so much to unfurl, but the promise is striking. Sour cherry, pomegranate, cranberry, blood orange and a ferrous rockiness, white pepper, raspberry leaf tea and warm terracotta cast across a framework of finely lacy but expansive tannins. Ample air, over two days, sees this soar, though only time will unlock all its secrets. If a case still needs to be made for those that doubt McLaren Vale grenache is inimitable, thrilling and unquestionably world class, then here is Exhibit A. Stunning.’

Earthsong is the new project from Thistledown, one of Australia’s leading producers of old vine Grenache and Shiraz. 

Based in Marlborough, New Zealand, Earthsong promises a similar approach to that taken by Thistledown – one where the importance of individual sites and sub-regional styles takes prominence.

Led by Giles Cooke MW, winemaker for Thistledown, Earthsong’s first release was a 2022 Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc from the renowned Dillons Point sub-region.

“When we started Thistledown, the challenge we had was to find a market for old vine Grenache and in little over 10 years, we have not only helped to find a market for Grenache but to lift the average price to the highest in the region. In doing so, we have raised the profile of the variety and cemented its place on the best wine lists in the world.The challenge for us with Earthsong is almost the opposite. The demand for Marlborough Sauvignon remains very high, but differentiation is low and understanding of sub regions (and their influence on flavour) very limited. 

We hope to communicate the message that, just like most of the great regions of the world, there are huge differences between the different sub-regions, with consequent distinct styles in the glass”.

Thistledown have always made a point of working closely with their growers for mutual benefit – and Earthsong will be no different.

“Our Earthsong journey begins with one, truly incredible vineyard in the renowned Dillons Point sub-region of Marlborough. Owned by John Blackmore, the vineyard benefits considerably from its proximity to the sea which means that the cool easterly breeze that rises in the afternoon, tempers the summer heat, resulting in a longer growing season and more pronounced diurnal temperature fluctuations. This combination of the soil, cool breezes and considered viticulture results in a distinctive and incredibly intense style of Marlborough sauvignon with blackcurrant leaf and passionfruit exploding on the palate followed by the refreshing mineral/ saline finish.

Working in conjunction with brilliant growers such as John is the foundations for Earthsong, in much the same way that we championed individual growers, and their sites, when we started Thistledown. This is a very different journey – not one where we have to create demand, but one where we need to create a thirst for quality and distinctiveness”

For further information on Earthsong, please contact Giles Cooke MW giles.cooke@thistledownwines.com

A collection of tasting notes that reinforce the story Max told earlier this year in his article on the next chapter for Australian old-vine Grenache. 

Many of the wines are made from very old vines like those in Blewitt Springs. Even older are the Grenache bush vines in the Eden Valley, thought to be some of the oldest ungrafted Grenache vines in the world.

These are vestiges of the roller-coaster history of this variety in Australia. Said to have arrived in the 1830s or 1840s, it was found to be drought-tolerant and capable of producing high sugar levels well suited to the fortified wines that were dominant at the time and continued to be so well into the mid 20th century. By the 1960s it was the most widely planted grape variety in Australia. According to Kym Anderson’s data,*

Plantings reached a peak in 1975 at 6,060 ha (14,975 acres), which was just over 15% of the total Australian vineyard area. In 2023, there are 1,829 ha remaining, representing just 1.3% of Australia’s vineyards. Lovers of fine Grenache are fortunate that some of these old vines have survived, though as Max explains in his article, their fruit is now highly sought after and increasingly expensive. Once you could barely sell the grapes. Many of the older vineyards were planted by McLaren Vale hero Bernard Smart.

Grower Bernard Smart was responsible for planting many of the best Grenache vineyards in McLaren Vale.

Max’s article eloquently describes the changes in style in Australian old-vine Grenache, now with an emphasis on freshness and elegance rather than ripeness and density, often aged in vessels other than oak barrels, or in older, larger casks that allow the fruit and the vineyard characteristics to shine. 

For me this stylistic shift was most marked in the wines from McLaren Vale, where, according to Giles Cooke of UK importer Alliance Wine, creator/winemaker of Thistledown and one of the panellists at the masterclass, you can get perfectly ripe fruit but still have a low pH for greater freshness. It was most marked in the wines from Blewitt Springs and the even cooler Clarendon subregion. Cooke suggested that in many instances, old vines could be picked earlier and still be perfectly balanced, a counterpoint to the suggestion made by some producers that old vines equals concentration and power.

I asked viticulturist Dylan Grigg, who wrote his PhD thesis on old vines (and now makes an old-vine Grenache himself), if he thought Cooke was right about the earlier picking. He replied, 'The point he makes is anecdotally true in cases where the old vines are well tended ... vine balance and health is an overriding influence. That being said, independent studies on vines of different ages in Switzerland, California and Australia (my study) all found more harmony in the winemaking numbers (pH, total acidity, Baumé) in older vine fruit and then wines.'

Yes!!!!! We won TWO trophies for Shiraz :)

Though we’re better know for our obsession with Grenache, our original mission at Thistledown was to make wines that were energetic, subtle, balanced and food-friendly. We’d like to think that, irrespective of variety, that common thread binds all of our wines. None more so than our Cunning Plan shiraz which displays bright, supple fruit, layer upon layer of energetic black fruits and a slinky, delicious finish. Like many of our wines, the quality of Cunning Plan is largely dictated by site selection and picking times, less so by winemaking dogma. We’re delighted to have won these trophies for a wine that is both accessible, and shows another side of Thistledown.

The McLaren Vale Wine Show seeks to highlight excellence in varietal expression, viticulture, production, provenance and sub-regionality. It is a wonderful, supportive community and to take out two trophies, including Best Overall Shiraz of the show, is very special.

'The best wines in the world are tethered to the place they come from.  

The top wines in this report are from McLaren Vale, from three different producers: Aphelion Wine Co (Wait Single Site Grenache), Thistledown (Sands of Time Old Vine Single Vineyard Grenache and The Charming Man Single Vineyard Grenache) and Yangarra Estate Vineyard (High Sands Grenache). Each of these are the best in the country this year, and they brought unmitigated pleasure to this taster on the days they were tasted.' 

The fill article and tasting notes/ scores are available to subscribers at link.

'RAISE A GLASS TO THE BEST OF THE BEST'

Huon Hooke, The Real Review

We are humbled to be recognised in the Top Wineries in Australia by The Real Review - a national benchmark showing where wineries are placed among peers. Coming in at number 52 sees us rated in the top few % of wineries Australia wide.

While ratings come and go, what really makes us satisfied and thankful are our enduring relationships with our growers and distributors and delighting our global Thistledown community at home and abroad.⁠ 

Published in the Sydney Morning Herald 'Top 52 Wineries of 2023', Huon Hooke says:

'Grenache, the key obsession of Brits Giles Cooke MW and Fergal Tynan MW. Shiraz runs a distant but similarly high-quality second. These guys are part of a very exciting modern grenache movement in McLaren Vale, sourcing grapes from some of the highest and best vineyards.

She's Electric Old Vine Single Vineyard Grenache 2022 topped the list for Thistledown this year, followed by Distant Light Shiraz Grenache 2020, Sands of Time Old Vine Blewitt Springs Grenache 2021 [sold out], This Charming Man Clarendon Single Vineyard Grenache 2021 [sold out] and Distant Light Grenache Shiraz 2018. Grenache rocks!'

‘From their inception and first vintage, 2018, to the current 2022, Thistledown’s top grenache cuvees, Sands of Time and This Charming Man, have entrenched themselves in the top drawer.’

REWRITING THE GRENACHE STORY

In Australia, Senior Editor Ned Goodwin MW continued to taste the wines of Thistledown, a leading producer of grenache in McLaren Vale alongside Yangarra, S.C. Pannell, Bondar, Aphelion and Bekkers, whose syncopation of propitious sites and extremely old bush vines make for irrefutable regional styling. McLaren Vale grenache is at the forefront of the world’s more exciting wine narratives. It could be called a renaissance but it is more akin to an awakening as growers draw on a resource once perceived, at least by the myopic, as “a weed.”

Thistledown held a formative tasting of each vintage produced to date of its top cuvees, Sands of Time and This Charming Man, from 2018 to 2022. In essence, Sands of Time is from a prized vineyard in Blewitt Springs on pure Maslin sand, dappled with ironstone and underlain by clay. The source is southeast facing. The octogenarian brush vines are all dry-grown. 

SUSTAINABLE WINEGROWING AUSTRALIA is a collective effort, for the wine sector by the wine sector. The program is a pathway to sustainable excellence, creating value and security now and for generations of grapegrowers and winemakers to come. It helps to ensure that eco-conscious wine drinkers around the world get to enjoy a product that’s better for communities, better for the planet, and better for the future of the industry. SWA accreditation is an industry-first trust mark that’s backed by a rigorous accreditation process.

'Thistledown has begun our journey to reduce the environmental impact of our packaging. The first steps have been to reduce the weight of bottles on our Gorgeous wines and, while not all options were open to us this year, we have moved some of our previously cork sealed bottles to screwcap as the next stage of this positive evolution.'

Giles Cooke MW

'I chat with Giles Cooke MW, the winemaker and owner of Thistledown Wines. We're at the winemaking facility in the Adelaide Hills, and I ask Giles to explain some more about the terroir of McLaren Vale, and whole bunch in these wines - what it looks like, and what it does to the wines longterm.

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Link to the first part in this series: https://youtu.be/E5kCwprDXco

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0:00 - Intro

1:00 - McLaren Vale Terroir

2:05 - Blewitt Springs deep sands

3:52 - Whole bunch, tannins and shape

7:40 - Vertical Sands of Time - how the fruit morphs over time

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I recently tasted over 270 red wines from South Australia (to the exclusion of Cabernet, Shiraz and Pinot), with a focus on McLaren Vale Grenache, and what makes it so special. All of the scores and tasting notes are available for subscribers on https://www.robertparker.com

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Any review you see on my socials (https://www.instagram.com/erinllarkin/), this channel and my website (https://www.erinlarkin.com.au) are never paid for by wineries or anyone else: the wines are featured on their merits - because they have risen to the top in tastings.  If you try the wines I recommend and you like them - good! Because so do I.'

Erin Larkin, Robert Parker Wine Advocate

Grateful, thrilled and humbled to be recognised in the top 2% of wineries in Australia.⁠

⁠

Thank you to the team @realrvw, our growers and our global Thistledown community at home and abroad.⁠

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‘The top five Thistledown wines were all McLaren Vale grenaches except Distant Light, a stunning Barossa shiraz-McLaren Vale grenache blend. The others are 2020 Sands Of Time, 2020 This Charming Man, 2021 The Vagabond and 2021 She’s Electric, all from high-altitude vineyards. All are deliciously aromatic and drink well young.’ 

Huon Hooke⁠

'So long has the variety been in the chorus line – blended with Shiraz or Mourvèdre – but a movement to turn the spotlight on Grenache as solo star has been gathering pace in Australia for many years'.

Full story, tasting notes and scores at link.

'Demand for Grenache has gone through the roof - everybody wants it and the price has gone up.'

Giles Cooke MW talks to The Wine Merchant about the challenges and goals for Thistledown in 2021.

'I tasted some truly exceptional wines last year, of which twenty-four particularly etched themselves on my memory. '

One of these wines is Sands of Time Grenache 2019.

Delighted to have 2 wines in the top 100! 3500 Australian wines were tasted!

This Charming Man Grenache 2019

She's Electric Grenache 2019

Known best for our Grenache, it is even more rewarding to receive this amazing accolade! Top 100 Wines in Australia for our The Cunning Plan Shiraz 2019.

by Jancis Robinson MW

In one of many articles following her tasting of McLaren Vale Grenache, the Queen of Wine Writing awarded Thistledown Wines high scores.

17.5/20 pts - This Charming Man Grenache 2019

17/20 pts - Sands of Time Grenache 2019

16.5/20 pts - She's Electric Grenache 2019

Following last years flurry of GOLD medals and TRIPLE TROPHIES, this year's McLaren Vale Wine Show yielded even more medals.

SILVER

The Cunning Plan Shiraz 2019

SILVER

The Vagabond Grenache 2019 

BRONZE

Thorny Devil Grenache 2019

Mike Turner, The Buyer, gives the 5 reasons he thinks you should get McLaren Vale Grenache into your life and lists his Top 3 wines from the tasting.

'On the call we also had Giles Cooke MW, whose Thistledown winery makes outrageously good Grenache. When asked if he felt the market was shifting and the punters are finally loving varietal Grenache he was very positive. “Grenache used to be red Riesling, everyone talked about it, but no one bought it. That’s changing.'

by Gourmet Traveller Wine, Oct/Nov 2020

Sands of Time Old Vine Grenache, Blewitt Springs 2019 and This Charming Man Old Vine Grenache, Clarendon 2019 have been featured in GT Wine - Best New Releases.

by Peter Ranscombe, Scottish Field

Thistledown Wines are recognised as the best of McLaren Vale and beyond. 

Giles Cooke MW praised Bernard Smart and his family for preserving old Grenache vines in the Clarendon area and for playing a wider role in the planting of other famous vineyards, including Yangarra’s High Sands and Sue Trott’s Home Block in the Blewitt Springs area.

by Chris Losh, Imbibe Magazine, UK

In 'Australia's Grenache Revolution' virtual event, a poll of the attendants revealed Thistledown’s ‘Sands of Time’ Old Vine Single Vineyard Grenache 2018 (33% whole-bunch, from Blewitt Springs) to be the favourite wine of the line-up. 

by Max Allen, Australian Financial Review - September 2020

‘You can pull your hair out or accept that everyone’s had to adapt’, says the UK-based co-founder of Thistledown, renowned for its grenache wines.

Best of the Best: The Quickening Shiraz

L9 World Label Association Awards 

(Digital Category)

These global awards represent the best labels from the five main printing technologies. 

by Chris Losh, Imbibe Magazine (Aug 2020)

by James Halliday Wine Companion 2021

by Ray Jordan

by Nick Stock, JamesSuckling.com

By Gary Walsh, April/ May 2020

By Sarah Ahmed, March 2020

By Peter Ranscombe, January 2020

By Natasha Hughes MW, Académie du Vin Library

Thistledown Crowned Halliday Grenache Challenge Winner and McLaren Vale's Best Grenache

Thistledown wins the 2019 James Halliday Grenache Challenge

By Anthony Madigan, Wine Business Magazine (November 2019)

Thistledown Grenache: Trophy-Bagging McLaren Vale Grenaches

By Sarah Ahmed, The Wine Detective (November 2019)

Thistledown Wines steal the show in the McLaren Vale James Halliday Grenache Challenge

By Harrison Schultz, On the Coast (November 2019)

Thistledown Take Home Top Trophies

By Sean Murphy, Scotsman Food & Drink

The Real Review Top 100 Australian Wineries

By Huon Hooke, The Real Review (June 2019)

Giles Cooke MW's Grenache Mission

By Huon Hooke, The Real Review (August 2018)

McLaren Vale Grenache: 2 Exciting Debuts & An Exceptional Wine

By Sarah Ahmed, The Wine Detective (August 2018)

Thistledown in Halliday Wine Companion 2019

15 Wines with 94 Points PLUS Including 97 Points for Bachelor's Block Shiraz, Ebenezer, Barossa 2016