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First released in 2001, Thomas Wines’ flagship Shiraz is a single-vineyard wine sourced from the mature Pokolbin Estate Vineyard across the road from Brokenwood’s famed Graveyard Vineyard. The vines date back to 1969 and are planted on Hunter’s classic clay/loam soils, where the low-yielding vines produce fruit with exceptional depth and concentration.
As in 2021, the cool, wet conditions in 2022 demanded hard work in the vineyards. After three decades in the Hunter, Thomas is well-placed to navigate such hurdles. Crop-thinning is the norm in the Kiss vines, and in 2022, over 35% of the fruit was dropped post veraison. In the end, yields ended up at a paltry 28hl/ha―lower than those permitted for Grand Cru Burgundy.
The fruit was picked in late February and fermented on skins for eight days before being pressed to French hogsheads (20% new) for 16 months’ maturation. The wine was held back for a further 10 months in bottle before release. Thomas describes Kiss as the introvert to Sweetwater’s extrovert, meaning, like many other top producers, his flagship wine is not necessarily his biggest or loudest. Expect a more reserved expression, sitting firmly in the medium-weight spectrum while holding just as much complexity and aging potential.