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95pts Halliday Wine Companion (Marcus Ellis)

From four Blewitt Springs sites, all old, dry-grown bush vine. One parcel was fermented in a concrete pyramid with crushed fruit and whole bunches, the rest open fermented with 35% whole bunches; maturation mainly in old puncheons. 2023 has delivered grenache of beguiling perfume. In the best examples there's also depth, spice and the structural architecture to age. Such is the case here. Dusky dark rose, cherry, wild raspberry, ground cinnamon, rosehip and bergamot tea with a ferrous substratum. The tannins across the ’23 grenache bottlings at this address are excellent, assertive in a finely sandy and gently pithy way.

95pts The Wine Front (Gary Walsh)

From four old vine, bush vine vineyards in Blewitt Springs. I’m all for single vineyard wines, though sometimes the sum of the parts makes for a more complete wine.

Raspberry, red cherry, violet perfume, some dried herb and spice. It’s medium-bodied, crisp and quite frisky, all red fruits with with some blood orange and pomegranate, almonds too, tannin is all sort of crushed sandstone (or something like that), and the finish is aromatic, long and really quite pretty. Such energy. Lovely.

95pts Halliday Wine Companion (Marcus Ellis)

From four Blewitt Springs sites, all old, dry-grown bush vine. One parcel was fermented in a concrete pyramid with crushed fruit and whole bunches, the rest open fermented with 35% whole bunches; maturation mainly in old puncheons. 2023 has delivered grenache of beguiling perfume. In the best examples there's also depth, spice and the structural architecture to age. Such is the case here. Dusky dark rose, cherry, wild raspberry, ground cinnamon, rosehip and bergamot tea with a ferrous substratum. The tannins across the ’23 grenache bottlings at this address are excellent, assertive in a finely sandy and gently pithy way.

94pts Robert Parker Wine Advocate (Erin Larkin)

The 2023 The Vagabond Old Vine Grenache is succulent and silky and leads with a bouquet as polished and supple as the palate—raspberry pip, cranberry, red cherry, licorice, star anise and layers of Earl Grey tea and violets. It has beautiful clarity and poise, but this is what we have come to expect from this producer. Classy wine.

94pts The Real Review (Stuart Knox)

Deep ruby and purple colours in the glass. Mulberry, wood oil and cardamom aromatics. Dark berry fruits fill the core of the palate. It's medium to full in weight yet with a lift of acid ensuring it never sits heavy. Savoury spices and dark slate minerality all add to the complexity and character here with firm grained tannins ensuring length and precision to its flow, with the finish lingering very long.

93 points JamesSuckling.com (Ned Goodwin MW)

Beautifully fragrant, mid-weighted grenache. Red-fruit allusions, pomegranate, menthol, dried rose petal and orange zest. 2023 was another cooler attenuated vintage, the last and perhaps the most challenging of a La Nina troika. Elegance writ large here, somehow synergistic with a Mediterranean-accented cru Beaujolais, such is the imminence, freshness, gritty tannin and shimmering transparency.

The Real Review Merit Wine Classification

Wines that reliably achieve gold and silver ribbons in recent vintages, with top vintages achieving 95 points or more.

96pts Halliday Wine Companion (Ned Goodwin MW)

96pts JamesSuckling.com (Ned Goodwin MW)

Blewitt Springs, an Australian grand cru equivalent. Old bush vines, as is the wont. Wild fermented with a good portion of whole bunches, some in concrete pyramids sans agitation, before ageing in concrete and large neutral oak. Brilliant! Like a slinky, before release over the top step, as riffs on persimmon, Seville orange, rosehip, pomegranate and impeccably ripe cherry clafoutis unwind and expand with a rattle. Long. A sandy scape of gorgeous tannins. World class.

94pts Gary Walsh, The Wine Front

Cherry, strawberry, mint and menthol, orange peel. It’s medium-bodied, a juicy red fruit flavour strewn with herbs and spice, supple tannin, and a juicy red fruited finish of fine length and spicy perfume. Nice.

93pts Stuart Knox, The Real Review

Bright ruby and purple tones in a glass that lifts with heady aromas of fresh crushed blueberries and thyme. Palate is bright and fresh with a ripe core of black fruits yet ample savoury dried herbs and meaty undertones already. A gravelly tannin profile ensures it carries long and dries into the finish.

92pts Robert Parker Wine Advocate (Erin Larkin)

You can rely on Thistledown for great Grenache. It's their thing. Here, the 2022 The Vagabond Old Vine Grenache leads with a vibrant display of red berries, exotic spices and black olive tapenade in merengue lockstep. There are also notes of poached strawberries, redcurrants, red apple skins and salted licorice. This is a lovely wine. It feels lighter than I remember the 2021 being. It is delicate. I love the bloody tannins, open-weave and chewy. The tannins are the highlight.

TOP 100 AUSTRALIAN WINES 

95pts JamesSuckling.com

Aromas of red cherries, baked strawberries, violets, crushed stones and suede. Medium- to full-bodied with silky tannins. Succulent and mouthwatering. Mineral notes add definition and a hint of saltiness, which creates wonderful integration with the pretty red fruit. Floral as well. Lovely. Vegan. Drink or hold. Screw cap.

95+pts Erin Larkin, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

The 2021 The Vagabond Old Vine Grenache is exotic, fine and layered with silty, black tea tannins. It is the mid-palate onward where the succulence of fruit is revealed, and this comes across as fine but flows up with lithe, ripe fruit and complex spice notes. Eminently balanced and poised, this fills the mouth and the mind simultaneously. Yes.

95pts Gary Walsh, The Wine Front

So much perfume here. Dried flowers, thyme, spice, orange peel, raspberry and strawberries. It’s medium-bodied, quite tense and firm, fine sandy grip to tannin, brightness and so much energy, a subtle meaty edge, dry with plenty of grip and superb shape to the long finish, and fresh red fruits and fragrance to close. An outstanding expression of Grenache.

95pts Huon Hooke, The Real Review

Deep, bright red/purple colour, with a fragrant bouquet of black fruits and fresh herbs, aromatic and bold, a hint of coconut, the palate lusciously fruit-sweet at its heart and backed by firm but gentle tannins that are in good balance while supplying appropriate structure. Extra length. I’d give it a year more, but it's a good drink now. I especially enjoy its freshness and vitality. 

16.5/20points JancisRobinson.com

Blend of three or four vineyards every year. On average 50-year-old bush-vine Grenache.Sweet red fruit – redcurrant, raspberry, cranberry (like Pinot Noir but without the anaemia). Proper structural grip here, light in body but with furry tannin. Black-olive character on the finish. The delicate side of Grenache. (RH)

96 points (5 Stars) - Gourmet Traveller Wine (Nick Stock)

An excellent expression of the powerful potential of old vine grenache from Blewitt Springs. Aromas of blood orange, raspberry and redcurrant, and savoury, stony notes. The palate has sleek, long and persistent shape, the raspberry and redcurrant flavours hold beautifully.

96pts JamesSuckling.com (Nick Stock)

A powerful and detailed grenache that offers up Campari-like red fruit and herbs with raspberries and iron. The palate is polished, in that there’s plenty of ripe, deep-set tannin here, carrying red-fruit flavors long. Drink or hold.

95pts Halliday Wine Companion (Ned Goodwin MW)

Borne by elevated sand, flecked with Blewitt Springs ironstone. A wine that sits below the single-vineyard hierarchy albeit can, at times, equal if not better them. Raspberry liqueur, anise, white pepper, lilac and orange zest. Gorgeous aromatics framed by herb-doused tannins. Pinosity and grip. Flare and excitement. Length of finish eased across a throttle of dangerous drinkability.

94 points - The Wine Front (Gary Walsh)

'Sourced from three old vine vineyards in Blewitt Springs. Ripe raspberry and cherry, rosemary and thyme, plenty of exotic spice. It’s a lush and fragrant beasty, but has cool cranberry acidity, stony tannin grip and a long fine chalky finish, with savoury dried beef and herb chiming in on the aftertaste. Excellent.'

93 points - The Real Review (Stuart Knox)

Medium to deep ruby-red colour with a tint of purple at the rim. Just-crushed forest berries, thyme and meat aromas are present. On the palate, it has a remarkable tension, fine and firm tannins compress the middle whilst a spritz of acidity gives lift and light. Amongst these structures red fruits, mountain herbs and broken slate are layered for intrigue and complexity. It goes very long and drying to the finish. Years ahead of it, if you have the patience.

93pts SILVER McLaren Vale Wine Show

93pts Vinous (Josh Raynolds)

95 Points 

James Halliday Wine Companion

‘I adore this estate's obsession with grenache, quite possibly SA's saviour alongside a swag of Italian indigenes and mataro, especially in lieu of the warming planet, the variety's torrid Mediterranean mettle and the lack of natural structure in shiraz. A delicious full-bodied wine that seems, despite it all, barely mid-weighted. This is due to the maritime salinity, pointed acidity and fishbone tannins, etching the flow of fruit with a detailed edge that confers savouriness and a sense of freshness while corralling persimmon, pomegranate, fecund strawberry and cranberry scents. This is looser knit than the other top cuvees, but no less delicious.’

96pts 

Nick Stock, JamesSuckling.com

'This showcases the power of Blewitt Springs in a very boldly stated, fruit-driven expression of

grenache with real purpose. The aromas are of redcurrants, raspberries, pomegranate and

blood oranges and lead to a palate with a phenomenal drive of acidity and tannin. Such

intense and defined style here. Drink or hold. Screw cap.'

94pts 

Nick Butler, The Real Review

'Vibrant crimson-purple colour centre to rim. A very euro bouquet of cured meats, red licorice

and stewed plums. Acidity speaks more of cooler climes - red cherries and raspberries. Oak

and tannin are measured. Blue and red fruits carry the palate. Classy.'

94pts 

Gary Walsh, The Wine Front

'Blewitt Springs. Creamy raspberry, rosy perfume and spice, maybe a bit of shoe leather and

dried herb. It’s silky, fresh, fine grip of tannin, mint and red fruits, but savoury in the

background, with a coolness and vitality that makes it so charming, and good to drink. Some

red fruit and sap to close. Yes.'

24 Vinous Highlights of 2020 by Sarah Ahmed

93pts Wines & Spirits Magazine

93pts Wine Spectator

'Aromatic and detailed, this red offers juicy maraschino cherry, blood orange, pomegranate, clove, green tea, cedar, lavender and fresh loamy notes that are precise and elegant, followed by a long, expressive finish. Drink now through 2031.'

91 Points - Wine Advocate

‘Herbal and almost tea-like, with an undercurrent of cherries and cranberries, Thistledown's 2019 The Vagabond Old Vine Grenache is a taut rendering of Grenache, marked by a medium to full-bodied palate, silky but pronounced tannins and a tart, almost puckering finish. Give it another year or two to settle down, then drink it over the following 6–7 years.’

Trophy - Best Small Batch Wine

McLaren Vale Wine Show 2019

Trophy - Best  One Year Old Grenache

McLaren Vale Wine Show 2019

Trophy - Best Grenache

McLaren Vale Wine Show 2019

Gold  Medal

McLaren Vale Wine Show 2019

Gold Medal

Six Nations Wine Challenge 2019

96pts

Sarah Ahmed

"From old Blewitt Springs’ bush vines on deep sand, with some ironstone. Fermented using whole bunch, whole berry and crushed fruit, then aged in concrete eggs and oak. It has a lively, citrussy undertow and fine rub of sandpapery tannins to the fragrant red cherry and raspberry fruit. Violets, anise spice and fresh acidity make for a long, lifted finish."

95pts

James Halliday

95pts

James Suckling

"A great address for grenache, this stands out from the rest of the range for more pronounced acidity and tannin. The flowers, dried and fresh raspberries and wild herbal flurries on the nose lead to a palate that has a firm spine of tannin and fresh, blood-orange and raspberry flavors. Drink or hold. Screw cap."

95pts

Huon Hooke, www.therealreview.com.au

"Deep red/purple colour. The bouquet is reserved and sweet, wth herbal, green stem, Turkish Delight and fresh earth aromas. This is medium to full-bodied and quite firmly structured within the Grenache spectrum, a more structured style with length and firmness in the finish. Impressive stuff."

93+ pts

Gary Walsh, www.winefront.com.au 

"It’s fair to say the boys at Thistledown surely do love their Grenache. This one also Blewitt Springs. Sage and herb perfume, red frogs and raspberry, cinnamon spice. It’s juicy and lively, light herbal flavour, gentle rasp of tannin, delicious flavour, slightly warm, but long on the finish, a bit of gravel and dried herb kicked up in its wake."

92 pts

Wine Advocate

"Sourced from two vineyards in Blewitt Springs and vinified in concrete eggs with 50% whole clusters, Thistledown's 2018 The Vagabond Old Vine Grenache features bright cherry, raspberry and red currant fruit. It's medium to full-bodied but taut and tart, with firm tannins and a long finish. It's a Grenache that could use a bit of time to settle down, then drink well for up to a decade."

Silver Medal 

McLaren Vale Wine Show, 2018

Silver Medal 

James Halliday Grenache Challenge, 2018

96pts

James Halliday, www.winecompanion.com.au

"From old bushvines at Blewitt Springs, matured in a concrete egg and French puncheons (10% new). Ah, take one look at the crystal clear crimson hue and you’ll know the wine comes from old vines in McLaren Vale. What is truly remarkable is the way the wine has soaked up the new French oak without raising a sweat. This is lovely. Screwcap. 14.5% alc. To: 2037."

94pts

Gary Walsh, www.winefront.com.au

''Old vines in Blewitt Springs. 200 dozen made. A bit of liquorice, raspberry, thyme, a little spice. Juicy, expressive and lively, dry and grainy tannin, freshness, good length, perfumed dried herb finish, and a dry one at that too. Fine Grenache here.'

94pts

James Halliday, www.winecompanion.com.au

"Although the alcohol is the same, this has more power, depth and drive than its Barossa Valley counterpart, which momentarily suggests higher alcohol. It's not, but it certainly needs more time, and will repay the patient in spades”.

93pts

Huon Hooke, www.huonhooke.com

"Deep purple/red colour and the bold, super-ripe fruit-driven aroma of liqueur prune and blackberry fruit pastilles. It's also bright and bold in the mouth, and quite elegant, with lovely sweet fruit richness. Very much a fruit wine, honest and pleasing, with fruit bonbon characters and soft texture. Delish."

93pts

Dr. Jamie Goode, www.wineanorak.com

"Giles Cooke MW is the dude behind this wine from Thistledown, which is a really beautiful expression of old vine McLaren Vale Grenache. It’s not showy, but just really elegant and with potential for development. 14.5% alcohol. Single site, 80 year old dry grown vines on sandy soils. 35% whole bunches layered alternately between crushed fruit in concrete eggs, with no mechanical extraction at all. This is a lovely, vibrant expression of McLaren Vale Grenache, showing juicy raspberry and red cherry fruit, with some orange peel notes and faint hints of tar and rubber. Bright and with nice structure, melding in well to the fruit to create a really expressive, youthful and elegant wine. Pinot Noir of the south, Grenache, is responding well here to sympathetic winemaking, expressing the brightness of the sandy soils of Blewitt Springs. I’d love to see this in five years’ time."

92+pts

Campbell Mattinson, www.winefront.com.au

"Blewitt Springs. McLaren Vale. Old Vine Grenache. It’s a thing. A good thing. It’s perfumed, it’s ferrous, it’s fleshy but not at the expense of a certain sinewy authority. This is an excellent grenache. Delicate in some ways and certainly light, but complex and earthen, almost ‘ethereal’. All it needs is another couple of years in a cool, dark place."

95pts

Tony Keys, www.thekeyreport.com.au

"Raspberries and other red berries come to mind on the nose and it’s pure velvet across the palate. More interesting flavours and perfume show themselves on the return journey. A very fine wine indeed"

92pts

James Halliday, Wine Companion 2017

"Red berried fruits, bright and lively, swoosh through the palate, engaging as they go. It's not complex but it's effective. Dry spice, florals and swirls of anise take the idea and run with it. It's not heavy but it's insistent."

92pts

Gary Walsh, The Winefront

"From a seventy something year old vineyard in Blewitt Springs. Red liquorice, red berries and spice, a little rose oil. Plump lush red berry flavour, fine silty tannin, a nice whack of spice and a satisfying finish. Lots to grab onto here, and very easy to enjoy".

93pts

Gary Walsh, The Wine Front

"From a vineyard in Blewitt Springs, with a vine age of something like 70 years. Realised I should have reviewed these some time ago (promises, promises) and went on a mad hunt under the house for it. Some spiders (one dead, one alive), a few mozzies, and a bumpred head later...triumph! Raspberry frogs, dried roses, aniseed and spice. Medium bodied, juicy and packed with red fruits, light glycerol texture and fine powdery tannin, clean cut of acidity, and a long silk finish strapped up with a little new leather. Succulent and lively at once. Tasty stuff." 

Gold Medal

Wine Selectors Magazine, Australia

"A deliciously luscious and supple wine, this Grenache opens with vibrant, dark cherry red and earthy dark berry fruit, bramble and complex floral  notes on the nose. The palate has juicy layers of plum and black cherry fruit with supple candied confectionary varietals. The tannins are super soft and velvety with mouth-watering acidity driving a long finish. An absolutely beautiful Grenache awarded Gold by all panel members.

92pts

James Suckling

90pts

Lisa Perotti-Brown MW,E-Robert Parker

"Pale ruby/purple, the 2014 The Vagabond Grenache has an intense red currant, red cherry and black raspberry nose with nuances of anise and violets. Full-bodied, rich and expressive, the velvety palate is loaded with fruit and has a very long, spicy finish".

89pts

Lisa Perotti-Brown MW, E-Robert Parker

"Pale ruby/purple, the 2013 The Vagabond Grenache opens to a pretty kirsch, rose petal and cinnamon stick and dusty earth nose. Full-bodied, soft and silky in the mouth, it has tons of spicy, red berry preserves flavors and a long finish"

93pts

Gary Walsh,The Wine Front

"Aromatic and floral with a smell that puts me in mind of lemon iced tea, which thankfully is a drink I really love. Raspberry and strawberry, sweet spices, rubbed mint and maybe other things too, real or imagined. Medium bodied, fresh and shapely, with crunchy red fruits studded with spice, fne grained kitten's tongue tannin, and a slip of dried herb coming through on a pretty good finish. Effortless drinking".

89pts

James Halliday

"From Blewitt Springs (70yo vines) and Seaview (40yo vines), each vineyard vinified separately, Blewitt Springs cold-soaked 5 days and open-fermented, matured in French hogsheads (20%new); Seaview similar except 5% whole bunches. A barrel selection after 5 months and blended, Blewitt Springs dominant. Light, bright crimson, the wine is built

around red fruits with a contrasting twist of acidity on the finish."

89pts

Huon Hooke, www.huonhooke.com

"Medium red/purple colour. Dried herb, nettley aromas, savoury and non-fruity, with a note of Kiwi shoe-polish! It's medium-bodied at best, with a tight, firm palate structure, nice balance and good length. The high alcohol doesn't show"

Rose Murray Brown MW, The Scotsman

11th October 2014

"Australian show-stoppers a thing of the past"

"A more serious effort as you would expect from the price. A blend of McLaren Vale fruit: Seaview and bush vines from Blewitt Springs grown on limestone and ironstone. Violet perfume notes, deep dense mouthfilling fruit with an interesting savoury edge deriving from whole bunch fermentation, this is chunky but with a soft, silky finish. It should mellow even further in the bottle"

Sarah Ahmed

The Wine Detective January 2015

" Following my great Grenache round up last October, Giles Cooke MW dropped me a line to suggest I take a look at Thistledown Grenache....though both share the variety's characterisitic high alcohol, it's worn lightly thanks to a remarkable freshness and levity which allows the details/terroir of each Grenache to shine. Bright translucent cherry red with a floral, spicy nose and palate. Its crunchy sour red cherry/plum and earthier wild raspberry fruit is laced with sweet , lingering cinnamon and cedar spice, violets and almond -edged kirsch. With lovely animation and freshness from tip to toe there's no glycerol drag. A very good example of a medium bodied Greanche with fine detail."