This is a bona fide, stone-wall, humdinger of a red. Though there is enough reason in its site selection, ancient vines, context and back story to make you sit up and look, you'll forget them all with the first sumptuous, juicy, mouth-filling glass. It's akin to chomping on a bowl of overripe summer fruit.
It is dry as a bone but with a rich glycerol content that allows for the tannins to feel velvety, the mouth-feel to be broad and mouth-coating and for an unapologetically gorgeous and approachable wine. This is a wine with which you'll quickly make very good friends...
Blackberry, black cherry and plum fruits and spices of nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla sit in perfect balance, delivered effortlessly and charmingly in a broad but balanced wine.
This is the style of Shiraz that won the wine world from many tired French wines in the early 1990s, yet sadly, too few producers are able to make wines like this at this price point any longer.
The value is sensational.
The Thistledown winery has given us, in this particular project, a stellar wine at an incredible price. It really will serve as a gateway to the entire range of their very select range of site-, grape- and vineyard-specific wines that come in at increasing increments. And we're fully aware that there may well be many who simply try this wine and not go any further. We couldn't blame you at all.
The first "single site" release and a wine that sets the benchmark for contemporary fine wine from the Barossa. Produced from hand-picked fruit from defined part of one single block in the revered Ebenezer sub-region, Bachelor's Block effortlessly blends precise picking times, whole bunch natural fermentations, gentle vinification with extended time in fine French hogsheads to yield a wine of taut power, finesse and savoury freshness.
The aim is to maximise the potential of the site. Hand-picked relatively early in order to preserve the fresher aromatics. The fruit was left to cold soak for a couple of days before the natural fermentation began. They used approx 35% whole bunches in the ferment, which was hand plunged twice daily. Post ferment maceration lasted a further 5 days before pressing to 300 litre French hogsheads - where it lay for 14 months before bottling .
Blackberry, spice and liquorice, with dense, rich fruit and glossy tannins. Quintessential Barossa Shiraz – single site from Ebenezer.
A complex and savoury nose with hints of graphite, liquorice, spice and blackberry. The palate is well balanced with dense, smoky black fruits and beautifully polished, glossy tannins that provide a mouthfilling yet succulent, energetic finish.
Recommended food pairing of braised ox cheeks, roast rib of beef.
Region: Barossa
Country: Australia
Grape(s): Syrah
Style: Structured, Smooth, Rich, Powerful, Medium Full, Juicy, Intense, Full, Fruity, Elegant, Dry, Dark, Complex, Balanced
Best food matches: Wild Boar, Venison, Steak, Roasts, Red Meats, Pasta, Casseroles, Beef, Barbecue
Alcohol: 14.5%
