Thomas Elenay Shiraz 2022 (6 Bottles) Hunter Valley

by Fine Wine Cellars

$335.00 GST Included

AUSTRALIA WIDE SHIPPING INCLUDED

The first release of the Elenay Shiraz in 2011 was the result of what Andrew Thomas calls a beautiful accident. A few barrels initially destined for the premium Kiss Shiraz didn’t quite fit the style and were blended with a few barrels of Sweetwater Shiraz to form Elenay. Such was the enthusiasm for the wine that Thomas decided to continue with the label. The vineyard composition changes depending on the vintage, but the style remains the same, with seductive fruit and premium French oak playing an important role.

As with 2021, 2022 brings together two sites. The new-to-the-fold Ridgeview vineyard comprises 60%, with the balance from Thomas’s flagship Kiss vines. Thomas has been working with fruit from the Ridgeview site in Belford since 2017. These mature vines (planted in 1998) are deep-rooted in Belford’s signature red/brown loam over limestone soils and face east, providing some protection from the hot afternoon sun and giving vibrant, perfumed lift to the wine. The Kiss vines at Pokolbin Estate are planted just across the road from one of the Hunter’s most famous vineyards, Graveyard, and these old vines (planted in 1969) yield meagre crops of exceptional fruit. Before blending, both components aged in a mix of new, one-, two- and three-year-old French hogsheads for 14 months of maturation.

“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.” 95 points, Toni Paterson MW, The Wine Companion

“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.” 94 points, Mike Bennie, The Wine Front

“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.” 94 points, Ralph Kyte-Powell, The Real Review

Category:

Description

About Thomas Wines

Thomas Wines is one of the Hunter Valley’s most renowned winemakers, nationally and internationally acclaimed for it’s exceptional, single vineyard Hunter Valley wines. Thomas Wines has gained a somewhat ‘cult status’ for its small range of personality imbued wines, many offering pure current drinking pleasure, as well as remarkable cellaring potential.

The first vintage was produced in 1997, with an absolute focus and determination to specialise in producing top shelf examples of the two signature varieties of the Hunter Valley, Semillon and Shiraz.

Over the years, Thomas Wines has gathered an impressive folio of local growers. Each own and operate arguably some of the Hunter Valley’s most distinguished sites, producing world class, uniquely regional styles. Each wine showcases its unique vineyard signature and expresses a real sense of place. Kiss Shiraz and Braemore Semillon sit at the top of an impressive range, becoming modern benchmarks for the Hunter Valley.

Having previously spent 13 years learning and applying his craft at Tyrrell’s, owner and winemaker Andrew Thomas has over three decades of experience winemaking in the Hunter Valley. It’s the no compromise, attention to detail approach to his winemaking that has seen him named 2014 Hunter Valley Winemaker of the Year (having previously won the award in 2008), as well as contributing to an impressive mantlepiece of wine show trophies, medals, and enviable critical acclaim.

Fine Wine Cellars

On the one hand, our role as a merchant of all things wine & spirits could not be simpler. We aim to source the most delicious, the most authentic, and the highest quality products possible from Australia and around the world in order to offer them to our clients. We live or die by how well we perform this task. Of course things are rarely as simple or as easy as they seem. Hunting for wines & spirits is no different. Apart from the months spent travelling, countless days and evenings spent tasting and the outrageous wine expenditure in the name of ‘research’, sourcing quality wine and spirits requires expertise and experience. Understanding the potential of a producer and their products is much more than just a slurp and a spit.

Related products