When it comes to wine, you could argue – with good reason – that the state of South Australia packs quite a punch. This, for most oenophiles, is the beating heart of Aussie wine production, and regions like the Barossa and Coonawarra have a towering reputation on the world stage, largely for their opulent Shirazes and their long-lived Cabernet Sauvignons respectively.
But there’s far more to South Australia than the Barossa and Coonawarra. While the latter lies several hundred kilometres to the south east of the state capital, Adelaide, the Barossa is just one of three major contiguous wine regions that flank the city. The Barossa is the most northerly of these, and its inland location creates the warm conditions that give rise to those rich, ripe red wines for which it’s best known. At the other end of the chain lies McLaren Vale, a region whose coastal location helps to temper the South Australian heat with cooling maritime breezes.
Like the Barossa, McLaren Vale is a region best known for its red wines (although some wonderful white wines are produced there too). The two regions also have a long history of wine production in common, and one of the unexpected legacies of this viticultural longevity is that vineyards in both areas have a treasure trove of venerable old vines. Some of the oldest of these have even surpassed their 100th birthday!
Another thing the two regions share in common is that the most widely planted red grape variety is Shiraz. Like the Barossa, McLaren Vale’s Shiraz is riper and more generous than the style made in cooler climates, but in comparison to the better-known Barossa wines, those from the coastal region – like this one – have a distinctively Mediterranean cast to them, and often show savoury notes of olive tapenade and woody herbs, along with more fruit brightness, than those originating further north.
For many, though, McLaren Vale’s signature variety is Grenache. The region has been at the forefront of a stylistic reinvention of a grape that was once used to create rather heavy, one-dimensional wines. The new wave of lighter, fresher, more perfumed Grenaches are referred to by many Aussies as ‘blue collar Pinot’. Thistledown has been one of the producers leading the charge for this change of direction, and its Grenache cuvées have been turning heads and winning awards for quite some time. This bottling is a blend of fruit from a number of the Vale’s sub-regions and provides a great introduction to the Thistledown range.
The Adelaide Hills region is the land bridge that links McLaren Vale to the Barossa, by way of the Mount Lofty Ranges – which, despite the name, is really a chain of hills with attitude rather than a true mountain range. It’s this series of hills that gives the region its name, and also the elevation that imbues the wines made in the area with their typical freshness. A relative newcomer on the Aussie wine scene, the Hills only really began to gain recognition in the 1970s, when its vineyards were planted with Chardonnay, much of which was used to create vibrant sparkling wines.
Plantings in the area have not only picked up pace over the years, they have also diversified wildly, and the Adelaide Hills has acquired a reputation as the source of a rich portfolio of grape varieties and winemaking styles.
Nevertheless, old favourites such as Shiraz and Riesling retain not only a toehold in the hills but also a place in the hearts – and the wine cellars – of aficionados of Australian wines. Both of the Geoff Hardy cuvées come from the K1 vineyard in Kuitpo, which is located in the southern part of the Adelaide Hills, close to the border with McLaren Vale. The warmth of the region is tempered by the coastal breezes that sweep in from the gulf and also from altitudes that average out at around 350 metres above sea level, and the resulting diurnal shifts (the difference between daytime and nighttime temperatures) helps to preserve acidity in the grapes and balance in the wines they create. The result is a linear, fresh Shiraz that has a distinctive note of black pepper, a characteristic associated with cooler climates, while the Riesling shows a joyous pop of lime and peach fruits.