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Thomas Wines Sweetwater Shiraz 2021

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Thomas Wines Sweetwater Shiraz 2021
Producer Thomas Wines
Region, Country Hunter Valley, Australia
Bottle Size 750ml
Case Size 12
Product Code 22151-750

We’re not far off from offering this Hunter icon’s new suite of Semillon and top Hunter Shiraz bottlings. Yet Andrew Thomas’ portfolio of wines is a many-splendoured thing and includes some great choices at the value end of the spectrum. If you are new to this producer’s reds, they are pitched in the ‘Hunter Burgundy’ style, that is, perfumed, supple and balanced—medium instead of full. This highly praised vineyard is located at Sweetwater Ridge in the northern Belford sub-region of the Lower Hunter Valley. The vines were planted in 1998 on soils of red/brown loam over limestone, giving a distinctive floral lift to its wines.

The grapes were destemmed but not crushed, and whole berry fermentation kicked off after a two-day cold soak. After ten days on skins, the wine was pressed off to a selection of new, one, two and three-year-old French hogsheads for 15 months of maturation. Only then are the best barrels selected for blending and bottling, and the wines marry for a further 11 months in a bottle before release. 

This is a silky and seductive Shiraz, flush with dark, brooding fruits, pepper spice, wet steel and a touch of anise. It’s juicy and mouthcoating with lovely spiced plum sweetness, a velvety mid-palate and a supple, layered and lengthy close. It’s a classy follow-up to 2020 and offers terrific value.

Thomas Wines Sweetwater Shiraz 2021

Reviews

“Cigarbox and spice, fresh leather and black and red plums seduce the nose. The palate is framed by a chewy funnel of tannins with a bitter chocolate flavour to counter the core of fruit. This is a very enjoyable shiraz with composure and enough complexity to keep drawing you back.”
91 points, Gabrielle Poy, The Real Review
“Mostly dark fruit with pepper and dark chocolate. Just a hint of vanilla, sage, peppermint and a sweet note of a ripe raspberry. There’s something simple and pure about this wine, it just hits the spot. It’s energetic with bright acidity and a distinctly bitter finish. Bitter like fruit skin and ground coffee. The good bitter. There’s a fair bit of drying powdery tannin, too. Even though it could use a bit more time in bottle, it’s cohesive and entirely pleasant now.”
93 points, Kasia Sobiesiak, The Wine Front
“Any red wine of the 2021 vintage is by definition better than any offering from ’20, it with no more than a handful of Hunter Valley shiraz wines that dared to make the point. This is a wine with a 20-plus year future, firm, earthy black fruits not requiring a 'thank god' finish.”
94 points, James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion 2024

Reviews

“Cigarbox and spice, fresh leather and black and red plums seduce the nose. The palate is framed by a chewy funnel of tannins with a bitter chocolate flavour to counter the core of fruit. This is a very enjoyable shiraz with composure and enough complexity to keep drawing you back.”
91 points, Gabrielle Poy, The Real Review
“Mostly dark fruit with pepper and dark chocolate. Just a hint of vanilla, sage, peppermint and a sweet note of a ripe raspberry. There’s something simple and pure about this wine, it just hits the spot. It’s energetic with bright acidity and a distinctly bitter finish. Bitter like fruit skin and ground coffee. The good bitter. There’s a fair bit of drying powdery tannin, too. Even though it could use a bit more time in bottle, it’s cohesive and entirely pleasant now.”
93 points, Kasia Sobiesiak, The Wine Front
“Any red wine of the 2021 vintage is by definition better than any offering from ’20, it with no more than a handful of Hunter Valley shiraz wines that dared to make the point. This is a wine with a 20-plus year future, firm, earthy black fruits not requiring a 'thank god' finish.”
94 points, James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion 2024

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