Thorn-Clarke Shotfire Barossa GSM 2022 (Australia)

Description

Oak, Spice, Strawberry

A vibrant, lifted blend displaying a garnet red hue with a crimson edge. The nose displays elements of each variety, raspberry, winter spice and musk from the Grenache, Satsuma plum and blackberry from the Shiraz and red cherry and earthy tones from the Mataro. The medium to full bodied palate is has lovely textural tannin and mouth-filling with cherry, plum and spice up front followed by darker fruit and a long, balanced finish.

When the Clarke forbears discovered gold in 1870 at the Lady Alice mine in the Barossa goldfields, so began a family dynasty intrigued by geology. A fine legacy that is reflected today in the terroir of our vineyards. The Shotfire range immortilises the Shotfirer’s hazardous job of setting and lighting the charges.

Vintage 2022 will be remembered as is one of the longest seasons for decades, with crushing at Thorn-Clarke starting mid-February and finishing in May. The very mild temperatures along with dry conditions led to a long growing season, without any weather events to force us to pick early or delay picking. Grapes ripened at a very even pace, allowing for lots of flavour and structure to accumulate in the berries. In our red varieties, colour is off the charts, a deep, rich, inky purple-red. Fruit flavours are bold and intense with lovely natural tannin. These wines are set for a long life if you chose to cellar a few.

Each variety was destemmed and fermented separately to allow full expression of varietal character. All three varieties were fermented in small 6 tonne open fermenters. To ensure optimum extraction of tannins, colour and flavour the Grenache was pumped over twice daily for a duration of 10 days and both the Shiraz and Mourvedre spent 7 days on skins with pump overs twice daily. Fermentation temperatures were maintained between 22-25 degrees to retain fruit purity. All batches were pressed off and once both primary alcoholic fermentation and secondary malolactic fermentation were complete the wines were then racked to new (10%) and 10 year old French hogsheads. This is where the wines matured for a period of 18 months. Bench blends were created to ensure a harmonious final wine.