"With Barbecues aplenty over the holiday season, it's good to get in some robust reds to pair with chargrilled flavours. ThornClarke's Sandpiper is a great value Shiraz with more depth than most at this price to its plush black plum and berry fruit, with hints of char and spice and meat-friendly tannins." Viva - NZ Herald, December 2015.

The Sandpiper Shiraz is sourced from several Thorn-Clarke owned vineyards. This wine is produced in a 'fruit forward' style with 12 months in American oak; the wine is ready to be enjoyed now and will comfortably cellar up to 5 years. Typical of Barossa Shiraz this wine is rich in flavour, and displays dark fruits, plums and spice with some good oak character. Deep red with purple hues on release. Creamy plum with blackberry and spice aromas. A medium to full bodied wine with a silky tannin backbone, a hint of spice and a grainy tannin finish.

The grapes are crushed and de-stemmed into fermenters. Yeast is added immediately once in fermenter and the ferments are pumped over twice daily to maximise colour, tannin and flavour extraction. Cooling is used to ensure ferment temperatures remain in the 22-25 degree Celsius range which will allow the fruit to display maximum fruit expression. Pressing then occurs approximately seven days after crushing and the wine is then put into French oak for maturation for up to 12 months.

The 2014 Vintage was characterised by Spring rainfall being well below average with several days reaching 30°C. With the exception of these few days the growing season had even temperatures throughout. Ripening was slow and steady leading to the de-velopment of good tannin structure and fruit characters.