2023 Vanessa Vale Shiraz
2023 Vanessa Vale Shiraz
A new single vineyard Shiraz to our range, coming from a small block planted on some heavy red loam/clay-based soil of the Vanessa Vale vineyard on Hermitage Road.
Matured in third and fourth use French oak Hogsheads, this wine sits perfectly in the middle of the meduim bodied spectrum.
A deliciously food friendly style.
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Winemaking Overview
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In the Vineyard
A new single vineyard wine sourced from a small block on the heavier red loam soils of the Vanessa Vale vineyard, which is located just down the hill (to the North) of our Cellar Door on Hermitage Road, Pokolbin.
Despite the minuscule yield (2.5 tonnes/Hectare), this was one of the last of our Shiraz vineyards to be harvested in 2024, being picked on March 1st.
Unfortunately, the owners of this property saw fit to pull this block out soon after the 2023 vintage, so this particular single-block shiraz is a 'one-off' and can never be repeated. This is vinous history in a bottle.... -
In the Winery
A slightly warmer fermentation approach was employed with this vineyard, along with relatively gentle maceration techniques, aimed at promoting the medium-bodied style that we were looking to achieve.
The wine was pressed into newer French Oak Hogsheads for malolactic fermentation, and then transferred to some older barrels for the remainder of the 12 months (total) maturation.
The fruit was initially purchased as an excellent potential base for our Synergy Shiraz, but it looked so good, we selected the very best barrels for this single-vineyard bottling
Bottled - 25th June 2024
Production - 280 dozen
Released - 17th May 202513.5% ABV
92 Points - Steve Leszczynski (qwinereviews.com)
"Vanessa Vale. With a name like that, it sounds more like the girl down the road whom you used to have a teenage crush on, but no, it's a new addition to the Thomas Wines Shiraz range. From a site on Hermitage Road, not far from the Thomas Wines cellar door, it walks with the opulence you'd expect from Andrew Thomas Shiraz. Littered with interest, red berries, red cherries, cherry cola and sarsaparilla capture your attention early. With time in the glass, raspberry rope and char wriggles forward with a lengthy finely spiced tail. Plump, fat and drying tannins seize ownership of the wine with a persistent and drying finish to boot it home. I'd be curious to see how this looks in years to come - there is no doubting its aging potential. Good stuff. Drink to eight years+"
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92 Points - Campbell Mattinson (winefront.com.au)
"It’s from a vineyard on Hermitage Road in the Hunter Valley. This is a bright, modern, fresh-faced example of Hunter shiraz, it’s every corner tucked, it’s every fold smoothed out. It’s just so exquisitely well polished. It tastes of red and black cherries, cedarwood and woodsmoke, with earth and sweet spice notes infused throughout. Elegant, juicy and svelte: that’s this wine in a nutshell."
View SourceTasting Notes
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Appearance & Aroma
Vivid purple with a deep core.
Aromas of dark berries, chocolate, dutch licorice, espresso greet the youthful nose.
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Palate & Finish
The palate is medium-bodied but also has a voluptuous, satin-like texture. Notes of mulberry, raspberry and blackcurrant fruit come to the fore with hints of hickory, roast hazelnuts and a graphite hint adding a mineral complexity. With background notes of cherry compote and olive tapenade, this wine is long of palate with fine tannins and a soft lacy acid structure. Generous and seductive.
WHEN TO DRINK
This wine is drinking deliciously now, but you will also be rewarded for giving it some short to medium-term cellaring.
The Vineyards
Whilst I have always applied a no compromise, attention to detail approach to my winemaking, I truly believe that 90% of the quality lies in the vineyard. The key to great wine is ‘keeping it simple’ to preserve that potential quality from the vine through to the bottle - Andrew Thomas