| 2006 Thorn-Clarke Wines William Randell Shiraz Barossa Valley | October, 2009 | 182 Buyers | 78 Cases |
A lot of our customers ask for Australian Shiraz. So why don’t we offer more? Because we find most of these wines “over the top,” even a bit concocted, as if there’s something not quite natural going on. Of course, there are counterexamples, wines from producers like Greenock Creek, Torbreck, and David and Cheryl Clarke’s Thorn-Clarke. For the Clarkes, there’s a flagship wine called William Randell. It’s what Barossa Shiraz ought to be, but rarely is.
What’s going on elsewhere? Overcropping, exceedingly high sugars requiring excessive watering down of the wine to arrive at sensible alcohol levels, and often radical acidification to offset the overripeness. Not at Thorn-Clarke, where things are done the old fashioned way, with wines “made” in the vineyard instead of the lab.
Made from fruit that’s rigorously farmed from a single 45-acre Shiraz holding called Kabininge, the family is farming these vines to yields that are roughly half those of the neighbors. At just three tons per acre, particularly in the excellent 2006 vintage, the Shiraz fruit was superb with unusually low pH, providing the fine acid backbone needed to balance the always explosive, purple Shiraz fruit.
This isn’t to say this wine is a lightweight. Hardly. Packed with dense purple fruit with layers of concentrated Shiraz intensity, the difference here is in the wonderful freshness that balances all that concentration. This may be a slightly Old World version of Barossa Shiraz, but make no mistake, it’s pure Barossa.
Tasting Notes
“Bright, generous and focused, brimming with juicy blackberry, licorice, mint and cream flavors that linger easily as the finish sails on and on. Stylish and graceful. Drink now through 2020.”
93 points — Wine Spectator
