Thistledown Gorgeous Grenache Blanc 2025 6 Pack

92 POINTS

Marcus Ellis - Halliday Wine Companion

Oxidative handling, then native ferment in older oak and concrete egg; four months on lees. This is lifted and intensely aromatic, with makrut lime, nashi, custard apple, chilled smashed cucumber, apple blossom, Meyer lemon and rambutan. It’s lighter in weight, without the blowsy texture the grape can have; instead, it’s got good vigour and fruitful vibrancy, a faint pithiness adding palate detail. This can take a good chill while retaining its flavour, which ups the already considerable refreshment factor.

91 POINTS

Gary Walsh - The Wine Front

I don’t have any details on the wine at present, though it’s usually a blend of Riverland and McLaren Vale. Green banana, honey, green herbs, pear. It’s a soft and juicy style, a little creamy, a subtle quinine-like bitterness, a little saline too, lightly chalky with a finish of good length. A good drink.

90 POINTS

Erin Larkin - Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The 2025 Gorgeous Grenache Blanc leads with primary banana ester and lifted tropical fruits—lashings of white pineapple and ripe pear. The fruit for this cuvée is predominantly from the Riverland, with some McLaren Vale fruit as well. It was mainly wild-fermented in stainless and 200-liter seasoned French barrels, with a foudre component as well. The wine is tightly coiled at this very early stage of its life, while the foudre and barrels have lent the wine some complexity to the texture and the top notes. This is a tidy little wine here that is well suited to the Australian summer culture. 13% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.