2022 Thomas Wines Elenay Shiraz

Highly Rated
A concentrated and taut Hunter Shiraz that is both vibrant and seductive. A real winner here from Thomas Wines.

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Sale price$56.00
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Description

The Elenay Shiraz originated from a "beautiful accident" in 2011 when barrels of Kiss and Sweetwater Shiraz didn’t quite fit their usual profiles. Blended together, they created an exceptional wine that became a staple of the Thomas Wines lineup.

The 2022 vintage continues this tradition, featuring 60% Sweetwater Ridge and 40% Kiss Shiraz, aged in premium French oak for added complexity.

The nose is very expressive, with dark fruits, exotic spices, dark chocolate, and hints of amaro. The palate is powerful and intense, with silky tannins and a core of black and purple fruits. It's a seductive Shiraz with a velvety texture and a long, refreshing finish.

With a collection of excellent reviews from the critics, this is another beauty from Andrew Thomas!

95 points
"It is a powerful, weighty, multilayered wine with abundant character. The fruit is dark, the structure dense, and a spirited rustic thread ties it together. Rather than being a wine to dissect, it is a wine to enjoy with hearty fare, good friends and convivial ambience."
- Toni Paterson MW (Halliday Wine Companion)

Winemaker's Comments

In a perfect world, everything fits into its place. But sometimes, just sometimes, you find that the square peg/round hole syndrome is alive and well. This label was first created from what we now describe as a "beautiful accident" in 2011, when a few barrels that were designated to be the famous Kiss Shiraz didn’t quite make the cut, and a few barrels of Sweetwater vineyard Shiraz likewise just didn’t quite match Sweetwater's style. With tongue in cheek, we affectionately referred to these ‘left-over’ barrels as the “Lips and Arseholes” and blended them together to create quite an exceptional Hunter Valley Shiraz.

The wine was extremely well received, so we decided to continue the label in subsequent vintages by making an actual barrel selection for the blend. The vineyard composition of the blend will change each vintage depending on how each block meshes together on our tasting bench. Stylistically the premium French oak can definitely be a feature of this label, particularly as a youngster, but will 'fold in' with the fruit given some time in the cellar

The 2022 blend is a selection of newer barrels from the Sweetwater Ridge (60%) and Kiss (40%) parcels. These two outstanding vineyards have featured (in varying proportions) in every single vintage of our Elenay Shiraz blend to date

Tasting Notes

A provocative violet purple colour with expressive nose of fresh and ripe dark fruits, exotic spice, dark chocolate and hints of amaro.
The palate is powerful and intense with fine silky tannins around a complex core of blackberry, mulberry and dark plum fruit. There are notes of warm brown spices, dark chocolate and fresh espresso adding another layer.
This is a seductive wine with velvety texture and long and refreshing finish.

Definitely slightly overt in the (premium French) oak department as a youngster, but of course this is the style of Elenay. We have seen how the punchy oak 'folds' into the fruit with time in the cellar, and this vintage will be no exception.
Pure awesomeness….
Drink 2024 to 2035+

95 points - "It is a powerful, weighty, multilayered wine with abundant character. The fruit is dark, the structure dense, and a spirited rustic thread ties it together. Rather than being a wine to dissect, it is a wine to enjoy with hearty fare, good friends and convivial ambience."
Toni Paterson MW (Halliday Wine Companion)

94 points - "A barrel selection that blends about 60% Sweetwater Ridge and Kiss shiraz. More new oak here.
Well meshed woody spices, gingery notes, toast supporting dark cherry, plum, maraschino, blackberry jubes. Supple texture, lots of concentration, fleshy, quite lush and the oak seasoning apt with its woody elements, cinnamon/clove and peppery notes. Potent, quite ripe/sweeter fruit spectrum amongst the wood. It nails the brief for a fleshier, darker Hunter shiraz." - Mike Bennie (The Wine Front)

94 points - "Deeply-coloured, purplish shiraz with aromas of blueberries, peppery spice, anise, dusty oak and a little whiff of reduction, all still subdued by youth. The palate is juicy, full and intense, yet reserved like the nose. This needs time to build but the foundations are there. Ample tannins and mouth-watering acidity should underpin a long cellaring future." - Ralph Kyte-Powell (The Real Review)

Thomas Wines

Andrew Thomas is a modern-day legend in the Hunter Valley, crafting some of the region's greatest wines for over three decades. His personal label is regarded as a benchmark winery, with a focus on premium Shiraz and Semillon— the Hunter Valley's hero varieties. Thomas has access to some of the region’s best vineyards, allowing him to create wines that truly capture the essence of the Hunter.

Originally from McLaren Vale, Thommo moved to the Hunter Valley to join the winemaking team at Tyrrell's Wines. After 13 years, he ventured out to develop his own label, making single-vineyard wines that highlight the subtle differences between Hunter’s subregions.

Thomas Wines is known for its classic Hunter Valley Shiraz and Semillon, but it also occasionally explores innovative styles without compromising on value. The white wines are delicate and cellar-worthy, while the reds are full-bodied and classic in the best sense of the word, making them one of the benchmarks for modern Hunter Shiraz.

A mentor to much of the next generation of Hunter producers, if you want to try the essence of the Hunter Valley, Thommo's wines are a must-try.

The Thomas Wines Braemore Vineyard Hunter Valley, NSW Thomas Wines

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