Hunter Valley 14.5% Screwcap $50
This won’t be released until May but, by golly, it’s a good wine already. If you’ll excuse me lapsing into guitar parlance, Hunter Shiraz is usually a single coil pickup style. Andrew Thomas makes interpretations that can be more akin to the use of a humbucker. There’s generally more grunt to them. It makes sense as Thommo comes across as being a bit of a Rock Star.
Having said that, this bawdy and riotous wine, sourced from a single dry grown vineyard planted in 1967, avoids syrupy/jammy characters and comes surprisingly close to achieving medium bodied status. Let’s call it medium full and leave it at that.
The nose is open and expressive – ripe but fresh fruited with blueberry and raspberry, chocolate brownies, aniseed and suggestions of dried herbs and leather – the palate, textured and long. New wave Hunter red for sure and very good to see it is.
It’s quite able to be enjoyed now but it’s certain to improve if you can keep your hands off it for a while. I would suggest it has a long and prosperous life ahead of it.
Winery website- http://www.thomaswines.com.au/
Great note. Tops. x
Cheers Mike. Couldn't use the word muscular (Thommo had already put it on the back label) so a different approach was required. xoxo
Must buy this. GW, Mr Graham, and now you. Did you get the Kiss? Suggestions that this is the more interesting wine – perhaps not 'better' of course.
MichaelC
Michael- I haven't yet asked Mr Thomas if he'd like to submit any samples. This was another bottle from the Hunter wine tast and tweet session. As such, I haven't tried the 09 Kiss Shiraz yet but I have high hopes after the excellent 2007 release.
Well I think Mr Thomas should give you samples of both. You might need to ensure that the Motel Block tasted is truly representative of the vintage :). And request a few back vintages of Braemore while you're at it.
On the '07 Thomas Shirazes, I preferred the Sweetwater, Kiss and DJV in that order (I recently had another Sweetwater – wow – have you had it?). The Kiss, of which I have three cellared, needed or needs it's oak to settle in a bit. It will live a long time surely. Now, I've heard that the '09 order of merit might be more like Motel Block, Kiss and Sweetwater a bit behind.
MichaelC
Yep, I've had a couple of bottles of the 07 Sweetwater. Tis a lovely wine and a bit of a steal price wise. It would be a good exercise to taste the wines together in a more critical context…mind you, I quite enjoyed drinking them without taking any notes as well