Thorn Clarke Shotfire Barossa Shiraz
Vintage: 2015/2017 Alc: 14% 750ml x 6 : Red/purple in colour. : A lifted nose of clean blackberry fruit accompanied by mocha and spices. :The palate shows sweet fruit characters dominated by blackberry and plum, complimented by cinnamon, clove and nutmeg characters. :The wine is full bodied with natural tannin and oak maturation adding texture and complexity to the wine.
It all began several generations ago with James "George" Goddard.
In 1871 he filed a mining prospectus - a simple document by today's standards.
But for this sailor, whaler, bullock driver, farmer, prospector, later miner and hotel keeper this was his Eldoado
- or more correctly his Lady Alice Mine, at Humbug Scrub in the Barossa Goldfields in South Australia.
The min continued operations until 1892 when it was flooded by water from a nearby reservoir,
and two miners were drowned.
Under George's management, the mine prospered for a considerable time, paying out several thousand pounds in divident. He, his wife and family lived at Lady Alice where he ran the Hotel and Store until his death in 1897.
Hi story reads like that of a great wine maker - Prospecting, digging, discovering,
building, producing and sharing the spoils.
David and Cheryl Clarke have the Barossa soil in their blood.
In the mid 80's David and Cheryl planted their dream vineyard in the Barossa. "Against the current" is a term that springs to mind. When others were grubbing our vines, David and his inseparable other half were establishing their most fruitful claim.
Cheryl Clarke (nee Thorn) comes from a family of winegrowers whose plantings date back to 1853.
They are some of the oldest vines in the world. The Clarke family now has plantings at
four locations in the Barossa and Eden Valleys.
And of their wines, the complex, rich and full bodied Shotfire Shiraz was voted
by Wine Spectator as the 18th best wine in the world in 2005.
Robert Parker proclaimed Thorn-Clarke red wines as some of the greatest value int he marketplace.
James Halliday has also given Thorn-Clarke a 5 star rating as a winery.
And 2004 Shotfire Quartage was rated the top wine at the 2005 Royal Adelaide Wine Show.
Year after year, Thorn-Clarke strikes more gold.
The shot-firer's legacy.
Above the old Lady Alice Mine in the Southern Barossa, there's a derelict hut on a ridge. This was the magazine, where the mine's founder and first 'shotfirer'; James Goddard stored his gunpowder, caps and fuses.
It was a job not without its risks in the 1870's, perhaps best explained by this droll description.
1. Drill hole
2. Load hole with black powder
3. Tamp in the fuse
4. Light the fuse
5. Run
