The signals came early.
Back in January ’14, the articles lauding the 2014 Hunter vintage started popping up. By the time all grapes were picked, in late March, the murmurings had turned into a tide of positivity. ‘Best ever’ and ‘very exciting’ were the words bandied around, trumped only by this humdinger of a tweet from now Mount Pleasant Chief Winemaker Jim Chatto:
1937, 1954, 1965, 2014 #Hunter Shiraz. If you’re lucky, you get one, maybe two, of these vintages in your career. Make it count. #V14
— Chatto (@jimchatto) February 21, 2014
I’ve written more about the 2014 Hunter vintage here and tasted quite a few in a pre-release lineup here (if you’re interested), but suffice to say that the wines do live up to the hype.
You can add this new Thomas Wines Kiss Shiraz 2014 to the ‘nailed it’ list.
Actually, Andrew ‘Thommo’ Thomas has had a massive 12 months, having just finished his 30th consecutive vintage (with ex-Pepper Tree winemaker Scott Comyns as ‘super assistant’ this year) and welcomed both a new baby and a new cellar door.
Lots happening. That hasn’t harmed the quality of this new Kiss, however. Indeed Thommo thinks that his ’14s are ‘probably the best range of Shiraz that I’ve made in all of my time up here’…
The format for this Kiss Shiraz is keeping in line with previous releases. Again, it’s sourced from the Pokolbin Estate Vineyard, planted in 1969, with the only major change a price rise from $60-$75 – the first increase in five years.
Compared to the other five ’14 Thomas Wines Shiraz range (all to be released May 7th), this is quite a masculine wine. Bold, juicy, and ripe, it’s still more medium weight than full, more Hunter than Barossa – but bigger than some years. I don’t see that as a negative, as this has real presence. Luscious, purple grapey fruit, vanilla cream oak, the style silky and juicy, the tannins a welcome lift to stop this being too sweet fruited, complete with background notes of licorice.
It’s not hard to taste, see and smell the appeal here – it is beautifully smooth and generous, medium bodied Shiraz made with a masterful touch. That back palate grunt is attractive too. Indeed, the only negative is that it is so juicy, so buoyant, and just a little oak drawn that I couldn’t drink much of this now. Sometimes I thought this was too plump, but that grunt, that depth, marked this as very smart wine.
If you like modern, purple-fruited, polished Hunter Shiraz then the pleasure here is very obvious. I’m a big fan. Best drinking: 2020-2035+. 18.5/20, 94/100+. 14.2%, $75. Would I buy it? In the scheme of things, the price is more than fair (especially when you look at the price of say, Graveyard). I’d prefer to drink in five years, but I’d like to own a bottle of this.
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8 Comments
Hi Andrew. Not a lot of high scores there for a vintage of a generation so am a little surprised, or confused may be a better word. Are these scores/notes indicating that you perhaps don’t agree with Thommo that these ’14’s are his best work. I can’t remember what scores you gave previous wines you have reviewed of his.
To be honest, the challenge with these wines is that they look so very youthful. Barrel-sample-esque youthful. Nearly everything has a plus sign this year, whereas I wouldn’t say the same about the last vintage.
I score purely as how they look now, and these wines are going to need even more time than usual to come together. I had each of them open for 3 days, and Kiss was still going strong by the end.
In other words, scores are conservative now, purely because they’re so embryonic. They’re definitely amongst the best wines I’ve had from Thommo. Just don’t open wines like Kiss now.
Ok thanks for clarifying. Makes sense. Looking forward to more Hunter ’14 wines you might cross paths with!
Me too!
Oh and I’m quite happy to be a stingy scorer. Especially for young wines. Much more realistic in the long run methinks.
Tasted these with Andrew – the Kiss after three days was the gift that just kept on giving. Some immaculate tannin’s and a supremely generous wine.
Agree with Andrew – points are tough at this stage, but it was a wine that made me smile. Very pleasurable. I especially loved the iridescent bright purple lip-gloss like colour and the somewhat sweet vanillan pastry esque oak that lingers after.
Certainly not a wine to miss.
That purple colour is so distinctive!
Took a 2004 kiss out last night to take to dinner for a friends birthday. Realised that I didn’t know her that well so I put it back.
I’m interested though, do you know anything about the ‘04 and how it may be drinking and possible value?
Ha. The ‘04 would likely be in a good place now. I can’t help much with valuations, but I know it will be a fine drink.