I arrived back from a week in McLaren Vale to sort through boxes of samples last Thursday. This was the funniest and the most accurate. A new wine from Andrew ‘Thommo’ Thomas (there will be no Motel Block from 2011. Thommo didn’t feel the fruit quite made the grade so it went into the ‘Two of a Kind’ Shiraz). The Elenay is 60/40 blend of Sweetwater Shiraz and Kiss Shiraz barrels that missed the final cut for their respective blends. “These barrels were too good to be downgraded to my ‘Two of a Kind’ Shiraz.”
Sweet damp earth, Black Forest cake, black and blue berries with an intriguing note of pine on the nose. Some bitter chocolate to taste. Cedar/coffee oak provides the frame. It’s velvety on entry before tight, fine, muscular tannin begins to assert itself from the back of the midpalate, massaging the wine into relief. A notch over medium bodied with a twist of pepper on exit. I find those almost forest-like characters tremendously appealing. Lots of promise as a young wine. 93+ Very Good – Excellent
Region: Hunter Valley
Alcohol: 14.0%
Closure: Screwcap
Price: $45
Tasted: April 2013