Tasting Notes: 93 Points Wine & Spirits Magazine:  "Growers in Barossa for six generations, the Thorn-Clarke family farms close to 600 acres of vines, providing the fruit for this sleek, black-fruited shiraz. It’s silky- smooth, with the concentration and density of flavor that takes the tannins toward blood, iron and sage. A deep, dark wine with pleasure to spare, this begins to show floral scents of roses, then detailed flavors of plums and strawberries after a day open to air. - Joshua GREENE - Wine & Spirits (December 2023), 93 pts

Food Suggestions: Rare roast beef or BBQ lamb cutlets

The name Thorn-Clarke represents the union between two families with deep roots in the Barossa Valley and six generations of grape growing. Cheryl Clarke’s (née Thorn) family were some of the earliest settlers in the region and have been growing grapes since the 1870s. The Thorn family property ‘Clifton’ is home to one of the oldest Shiraz vineyards in Australia, and perhaps the world, with earliest records for plantings dating back to 1854. It is still owned and operated by Cheryl’s brother. David Clarke’s family was also a pioneer in the Barossa Valley but more famously for mining gold. An ancestor, James Goddard, was responsible for opening the Lady Alice gold mine in the Barossa goldfields, the largest gold mine in South Australia at the time. A geologist by training and wine lover at heart, David set about testing soils to identify prime plots of land to acquire and plant vines. David and Cheryl’s first vineyard in 1987 was Kabininge, outside Tanunda (the name means “watering hole” in aborigine). They later acquired more land in Barossa and in The Eden Valley. This took a lot of Australian pluck at that time. During the late 1980s the South
Australian government was sponsoring growers to remove vines, not plant them, to manage oversupply.

Following success as grape growers supplying other Barossa wineries with fruit, David and Cheryl founded Thorn-Clarke winery in 2001 with daughter, Nicole, and son, Sam. Thorn-Clarke has a total of 675 acres of grapes over 5 vineyards. In Barossa Valley, there are 3 vineyards: Kabininge, St. Kitts and Truro. In the Eden Valley, there are 2 vineyards: Mount Crawford and Milton Park.

The Barossa Valley wine region is one of Australia's oldest and most premier wine regions. Located in South Australia, the Barossa Valley is about 56 km (35 miles) northeast of the city of Adelaide. Unlike most of Australia whose wine industry was heavily influenced by the British, the wine industry of the Barossa Valley was founded by German settlers fleeing persecution from the Prussian province of Silesia (in what is now Poland). The warm continental climate of the region promoted the production of very ripe grapes that was the linchpin of the early Australian fortified wine industry. As the modern Australian wine industry shifted towards red table wines (particularly those made by the prestigious Cabernet Sauvignon) in the mid-20th century, the Barossa Valley fell out of favor due to its reputation for being largely a Syrah from producers whose grapes were destined for blending. During this period the name "Barossa Valley" rarely appeared on wine labels. In the 1980s, the emergence of several boutique families specializing in old vine Shiraz wines began to capture international attention for the distinctive style of Barossa Shiraz, a full bodied red wine with rich chocolate and spice notes. This led to a renaissance in the Barossa Valley which catapulted the region to the forefront of the Australian wine industry.

Winemaker Peter Kelly, strongly believes that to make wines with complexity and elegance, the first step is getting the vineyards right. Theirs is a long-term approach to serve as a custodian for the Barossa’s reputation and their families’ commitment to making great wines. The vineyard team focuses first on nurturing quality grapes from prime land without cutting corners. Once grapes are harvested and into the winery it’s about balance. The Thorn-Clarke family has a strong belief in the age-old saying "you can't make good wine from bad grapes." In 2021 Thorn-Clarke's winery and vineyards were certified by Sustainable Winegrowing Australia.

Here is a summary of the ‘sustainable’ practices across the vineyard and winery:

Vineyard
• biosecurity measures such as foot baths and wash down of equipment to stop the spread of pest and diseases into the vineyards
• fungicide programs which are backed up by calibration records, with a preference to use biological or organic fungicides rather than synthetic ones
• Minimal soil disturbance practices such as permanent midrow swards to improve biodiversity and to avoid soil erosion and degradation
• Recycling of vineyard inputs such as used posts through sale or donation to other agricultural businesses
• Minimize Diesel usage through programmes such as running livestock in the vineyard to control weeds without needing to revert to slashing passes
• Automatic soil moisture monitoring probes used for all irrigation rounds with the aim of reducing water usage
• Native vegetation remediation to lessen erosion risk and improve native predator numbers for vineyard pests such as light brown apple moths
• Petiole analysis to ensure fertigation programs are targeted and minimize any soil leaching

Age of vines: Between 25 and 30 years old
Soil Type: Several types including black cracking (Biscay) clay and red brown soil over calcareous soil.
Vinification: Selected parcels of estate fruit were de-stemmed into our open fermenters and seeded with yeast.  The ferments were pumped over twice daily to maximize color, tannin and flavor extraction. The temperature controlled fermenters allowed the ferments remain in the 22-25 °C range giving amazing fruit expression in the wine.  Each parcel was pressed after a minimum of seven days fermenting on skins.  The wine completed both primary and ML fermentation in tank before being filled to American oak hogsheads (300Ltrs) to mature. The wine was aged in a combination of new, 2nd and 3rd use barrels for up to 2 years.  Prior to bottling the parcels were emptied from oak and blended.  Bottling was carried out with no fining and no filtration.