2021 Thorn-Clarke Shotfire Quartage, Barossa

Trophy Best of Country 2025 Korea Wine Challenge

Double Gold at the 2025 New Zealand International Wine Show

Gold at 2025 Mundus Vini

Silver at 2025 Decanter World Wine Awards

Bronze at 2025 Sydney Royal Wine Show & Royal Queensland Wine Awards

This is richly fruited with savoury complexity, showing cassis, dried herb, cured meat, fennel, and cedar characters on the nose. The palate is equally satisfying, featuring a beautifully layered mouthfeel and finely woven tannins that provide both structure and a supple feel, culminating in a persistent, sturdy finish. A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot & Cabernet Franc. Drink to 2036.

94 points Sam Kim for Wine Orbit

Ruby in the glass, with aromas of cassis, black plum and black cherry, cedar, mocha and vanilla, subtle leather notes. Bold and full-bodied, rich fruit balanced with bright acidity and supple emery tannins. Great value and drinking well. Drink to 2033.

92 points Melissa Moore for The Real Review, July 2026

I'm of an age where I remember this wine being all the rage on the groovy American wine forums. It's a blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, petit verdot and cabernet franc, so that's a BAB ('Bordeaux adjacent blend'). It's a deeply coloured, fruit-pure wine that shows plenty of appealing black and blue fruits, layered spice, purple floral facets and chocolatey tannin. It's great drinking and still solid value. Drink to 2036.

92 points Dave Brookes for Halliday Wine Companion, March 2026

Thorn-Clarke’s Shotfire range of wines pays tribute to the 1870s gold discovering Clarke forbears. The fruit for this wine was night harvested and fermented across a variety of smaller fermenters. Matured in French oak, the parcels were taste assessed after a six-month maturation, before being racked and blended ahead of a further six months in barrels.

The 2021 Shotfire Quartage is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 14% Petit Verdot and 9% Cabernet Franc from the St Kitts vineyard in northern Barossa Valley and the Milton Park vineyard located on the Eden Valley side between Angaston and Keyneton.

About this producer

The Clarke family settled in the Barossa already in the 1870s, but the story of Thorn-Clarke begins in 1987, when David and Cheryl (nee Thorn) Clarke bought their Tanunda property and promptly started to plant their first vineyard. It was Cheryl’s father and her brothers that in the end were instrumental in bringing the vineyard to premium shape, and after years of selling fruit to wine producing neighbours, 1998 produced the first small batches of Shiraz to be labelled Thorn-Clarke.

Today, the family is custodian to 240 hectares of vineyards across the Barossa and Eden Valleys, with sites in Kabininge, St Kitts, Truro, Milton Park and Mount Crawford. As a certified member of Sustainable Winegrowing Australia, all aspects of their business are regularly audited to minimise their environmental impact.