Thomas Wines Kiss Shiraz 2021

A benchmark Hunter Shiraz, displaying a delightfully deep and vibrant purple hue. The 2021 vintage has a slightly 'gentler' feel than the last few hot and dry vintages, but sits nicely in the middle of the medium-bodied spectrum. Brilliant deep purple colour. A pretty and intriguing nose of fresh ripe dark berries and fruits; there’s couverture chocolate, red petals, Dutch licorice and exotic spice just to name a few. Immediately layers of ripe dark plum, blackberry and amarena cherry cascade across the palate, which is lavish and intense, denying its medium body. The oak adding hints of tea smoke, cassia espresso and Christmas spices. Notes of river rock add a refreshing minerality and interlaced silky tannin. Spellbinding long and complex. The premium French oak maturation is still evident in its youth but also provides the additional structural complexity that the primary fruit intensity demands. Deliciously bright and intense as a youngster, this vintage is also a belter for the cellar. Drink 2023 – 2035+

Kiss Shiraz is a cheeky name for a serious wine. It is an individual vineyard Hunter Valley Shiraz, grown on the tough clay/loam soils of the Pokolbin Estate vineyard (planted 1969). These naturally low-cropping vines consistently produce fruit with exceptional depth and concentration. This is the benchmark Shiraz for Thomas Wines, expressing the very best qualities of each vintage. The first vintage of Kiss Shiraz was in 2001, and since that time this label has received countless wine show awards and accolades.

2021 was a challenging vintage in the Hunter Valley, with some early and mid-season rainfall delaying the ripening process, however our crop thinning at Veraison has certainly paid dividends once again with this vineyard. Realising that we needed to reduce the crop to absolute minimum levels, we removed approximately 40% of the fruit in the first week of January. This certainly enabled the vines to fully ripen the fruit was picked in excellent condition.

The 2021 Kiss Shiraz was hand-picked on the 22nd of February, cold-soaked for 48 hours, and then fermented on skins for a further nine days. The wine was then matured for 16 months exclusively in premium French oak (300L) Hogsheads, 22% of which were new barrels. After bottling, the wine rested in the cellar for ten months prior to being released on 13th of May 2023.

The 2021 vintage has produced some fantastic red wines across our entire range, and the 2021 Kiss Shiraz sits at the very top of that tree. Whilst this wine is certainly enjoyable in its youth, it is destined to be regarded as a classic in years to come.