2022 Thorn-Clarke Sandpiper Shiraz, Barossa

Bright crimson with juicy plum, red cherry and boysenberry fruits, with hints of baking spice, licorice, dark chocolate, violets, peppercorn, tapenade, oak spice and earth. Medium bodied, with ripe berry and plum fruits, balanced oak and layered spice, leaning slightly savoury on the finish. It’s a solid bistro wine, that’s for sure.

89 points Dave Brookes for Halliday Wine Companion, June 2026

Thorn-Clarke's Sandpiper range of wines is named after the migratory bird which visits their vineyards annually from the northern hemisphere, and serve as a reminder of the tenacity and commitment which is required for long term viticulture.

The Shiraz is regional Barossa blend. Fruit is destemmed, crushed and inoculated with a select yeast for a vintage depending week-long or so fermentation at controlled 22-25 degrees with daily pump overs. The wine then matures in a mixture of French oak for up to 12 months.

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.