2015 Thorn-Clarke Shotfire Quartage Barossa Valley 750 ml

Top-Scoring Barossa Red Blend at a Wallet-Friendly Price

The Barossa Valley may be most famous for its rich, layered Shiraz, but the Bordeaux-style blends of the region are among the most exciting in the world. This 2015 Thorn-Clarke Shotfire Quartage embodies everything that makes these blends so appealing: It’s ripe and generous with plenty of mixed-berry fruit, the spice notes lend it all a sense of warmth and further complexity, and the firm tannins and balanced acidity allow the finish to linger in a way that promises immense pleasure right away or years of evolution in the cellar.

Upon first tasting it, our team did a collective double-take: 95-point beauties like this don’t often come with a price tag of less than $20. Except for today: offered at $18.99 per bottle on a case, with shipping included on 6.​

When the Thorn family struck gold in the Barossa Valley’s Lady Alice mine nearly 150 years ago, they could have had no idea that their legacy would be written not in precious metal but, instead, in some of the most remarkable wine in Australia. With nearly a century and a half of hindsight, however, it all makes perfect sense: A family dynasty born from a fascination with geology, of course, led to the cultivation of some of the finest terroirs in the Barossa.

Today, David and Cheryl Clarke (née Thorn), and their daughter Nicole and son Sam, represent the fifth and sixth generations to tend this land. Their devotion to sustainably farming it, and to carrying on the family legacy of respecting and expressing their magnificent piece of the Barossa, have resulted in one of the most remarkable deals we’ve tasted recently.

This elegant blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Merlot starts off with a soulful mix of cinnamon- and nutmeg-spiced berry aromas that pave the way for boysenberry, blackberry, and blueberry, all of it wonderfully complicated with anise, licorice, mint, and warm earth. Firm tannins frame the generous fruit brilliantly, and a beam of acidity slices through it all, making this full-bodied wine delicious right now and also appropriate for several years of continued evolution in the cellar.

Robert M. Parker, Jr., has been a fan for years, writing that, “I had loved (Thorn Clarke) values when I was covering Australia…Like a number of producers in South Australia, the quality here is extremely high and the prices very consumer-friendly.” Wine Spectator awarded the 2015 Shotfire Quartage 94 points, and James Halliday, the dean of Australian wine writers, was effusive in his 95-point review, noting that this blend “has often exceeded expectations,” and that “everything about the wine defies the normal yawn that greets Barossa Valley Bordeaux blends with its bright mouthfeel and cedary fruit flavours.”

Australia’s Barossa Valley has made a name for itself with the lush, generous reds that have charmed a generation of wine lovers around the world. The 2015 Thorn-Clarke Shotfire Quartage demonstrates what the future of the region’s renowned wines will look like while still respecting that past. It’s approachable yet complex, generous yet deeply rooted in its unique terroir, and represents the best of this legendary region.