Not quite a bolt from the blue, but these Thorn Clarke Single Vineyard wines are very good. This Thorn Clarke Single Vineyard Selection Mataro 2018 is one of the highlights.
From the Hoffman DV Vineyard, it’s all deep plum fruit, the oak adding sweetness to what is an otherwise intense, slightly foreboding, dark-fruited wine. It’s a little warm and the oak steps in too much, but I like the composition of the back end, the silky textures, the unwavering fruit intensity. Power, power and more power.
Real Barossa concentration writ large. Best drinking: now and up to fifteen years. 18/20, 93/100. 14.5%, $38. Thorn Clarke website. Would I buy it? Worth a few glasses.
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2 Comments
Back in May I had one of my Thorn-Clarke favourites over the decades, the Shotfire quartage. Used to love most of them ad it’s been a while. this was the 2017 and I know vintage was poor. At late twenties, so was the value here. It was quite thin and uninteresting, a serious disappointment. I have never had anything except the Shotfire shiraz which was always average and the cheap sandpiper cordial.
Chris, you say your 2017 Quartage was from a poor vintage but it is only three years old. The pair of bottles I thought to put away is from the 2001 vintage so I might be in a bigger hole than you are. Nonetheless, I remain optimistic.