2025 Thistledown Thorny Devil Grenache

95 pts
A delicious old vine Grenache from McLaren Vale masters, Thistledown. Top value right here.

Price:
Sale price$35.00
Stock:
In stock, ready to ship
Rendering loop-subscriptions

Description

The crew at Thistledown are Grenache-obsessed - they know how fantastic the McLaren Vale region is at producing stellar Grenache, and they sure love to show it off.

This is one old vine Grenache to really sink your teeth into. The fruit comes from multiple vineyards, each parcel vinified separately with around 30% whole bunches. It all comes together in a spectacular package, keeping the pureness of the fruit but with layers and layers of interest and finesse.

Such an excellent wine for the price point. The perfect way to dip a toe into the wonderful world of McLaren Vale Grenache without breaking the bank.

95 points
"This has gone up a few dollars, yet it remains one of the country’s best value wines, when you consider provenance, quality and pure joy-giving potential..."
- Marcus Ellis (Halliday Wine Companion)

95 points - "Built from a mix of sites, with the theme being old bush vines; seasoned oak for about eight months. This has gone up a few dollars, yet it remains one of the country’s best value wines, when you consider provenance, quality and pure joy-giving potential. This is expressly fruitful and open at this early stage. Ripe redcurrant, maraschino cherries, rosehip tea, kirsch, rosewater and dried rose petals in spice, a stroll through a Persian souk – perhaps an indulgent analogy, but it has that evocation of ancient luxury, when spice and perfume were marvels. The elegant headiness is delightful, but it’s the natural tensioning that elevates this, with detailed, quietly complex tannins yielding integrated savouriness." - Marcus Ellis (Halliday Wine Companion)

Customer Reviews

Customer Reviews

Based on 2 reviews
50%
(1)
50%
(1)
0%
(0)
0%
(0)
0%
(0)
S
Sam P.
great value

great value for money Grenache

R
Robert C.
Top value from Thistledown

Bright fruit, smooth palate, integrated tannins, great value Grenache.

Thorny Devil comes from a variety of sites, all of which have in common that that they are old, bush trained and dry grown. With Grenache, we are always looking to maximise fruit purity, texture and finesse and do so through earlier picking, selection of blocks within the vineyard and a detailed understanding of each site and how it reacts to the season.

The resulting wine has the characteristic McLaren Vale perfume and spice with a beguiling texture and perfume that keeps you interested.

Price Bracket $31 to $40
Type Red
Body Medium Bodied
Variety Grenache
Country Australia
Region McLaren Vale
Australian State SA
Feature High Score
Reviewed By Halliday Wine Companion
Critic Score 95
Size 750ml
Vintage 2025
Closure Screw Cap

Thistledown

Thistledown wines was founded by UK natives Fergal Tynan, and Giles Cooke, the two MWs met while they began their WSET studies and formed a fast and strong bond.

While they have vineyards and wineries across the globe, Thistledown holds a special place in their hearts, with many of Giles' first forays into MW wine travel happening around Australia.

With renowned local winemaker Peter Leske on hand year-round, Giles is still quite hands-on with Thistledown, ensuring to be downunder throughout the year at key points in the winemaking process.

Giles Cooke MW Thistledown

Others also liked

Recently viewed

Common Questions

Delivery is free on orders of $199 or more.

For orders under this amount, delivery is calculated at checkout based on your postcode. You can order in any quantity or combination of wines you like. Straight dozens are not required.

We will dispatch your order the same or next business day.

Estimated delivery transit time varies depending on your location. Please review this page for specific estimates.

No sorry we do not have a store front and pickup is not available.

Yes, no problem. When placing your order select ‘Store at Different Drop and Delivery Later’ as your shipping method or reply to the order confirmation email after placing your order with additional instructions.

We stock three different sized gift boxes (single, three bottle and six), all are available for purchase for a flat rate of $8. They look great and make an awesome impression.

To add a gift box to your order, simply add at checkout. The special requests box is your friend, please give us as many details of what you are looking for and we will try our best, or get in contact to discuss it with you. 

If you want to bulk order gifts or if you have any trouble please email hello@differentdrop.com or call and we can try and help.

 

Our warehouse is automated so unless you tell us otherwise, we will ship your order. If you would like us to hold your order please reply to the order confirmation email after placing your order and we are happy to store your order for up to 6 months at no charge. You can review our heat policy here.

Yes, of course. We want Different Drop customers to always be getting the best price. You can see our price match policy here.

No, feel free to mix it up! There is no minimum requirement. You can order wines in any quantity or combination, 1 or 50+ bottles.

No, all prices are set at the full discounted dozen rate already.

Most wine retailers list at a single-bottle price and then discount 10–15% when you buy six or twelve. We've taken the opposite approach. Since the overwhelming majority of our orders are already 6 bottles or more, our list price is set for the case buyer from the start. There's no inflated single-bottle price to discount down from.

What that means for you:

- One price, same for everyone — no minimum to hit to unlock the best rate
- No mixed-six gymnastics to qualify for a discount
- Our single-bottle price is typically at or below a traditional retailer's by-the-dozen rate

Put simply: the box discount is already baked into the price.

**And if you find it cheaper elsewhere?** Let us know. If the same wine is available at a lower price at another retailer (including at their mixed-six or by-the-dozen rate) we're happy to match it.

If you can't add more wine to your cart it means we are low on stock of that wine. For example, if you are only able to 3 bottles and no more that means we only have 3 bottles left of that wine. If it's a must have, please contact us and we may be able to order more in for you.

Regular Enquiries

Urgent Enquiries

02 8376 8775