95 points - "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."
Toni Paterson MW (Halliday Wine Companion)

94 points - "A barrel selection that blends about 60% Sweetwater Ridge and Kiss shiraz. More new oak here.
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." - Mike Bennie (The Wine Front)

94 points - "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." - Ralph Kyte-Powell (The Real Review)

Winemaker's Comments

In a perfect world, everything fits into its place. But sometimes, just sometimes, you find that the square peg/round hole syndrome is alive and well. This label was first created from what we now describe as a "beautiful accident" in 2011, when a few barrels that were designated to be the famous Kiss Shiraz didn’t quite make the cut, and a few barrels of Sweetwater vineyard Shiraz likewise just didn’t quite match Sweetwater's style. With tongue in cheek, we affectionately referred to these ‘left-over’ barrels as the “Lips and Arseholes” and blended them together to create quite an exceptional Hunter Valley Shiraz.

The wine was extremely well received, so we decided to continue the label in subsequent vintages by making an actual barrel selection for the blend. The vineyard composition of the blend will change each vintage depending on how each block meshes together on our tasting bench. Stylistically the premium French oak can definitely be a feature of this label, particularly as a youngster, but will 'fold in' with the fruit given some time in the cellar

The 2022 blend is a selection of newer barrels from the Sweetwater Ridge (60%) and Kiss (40%) parcels. These two outstanding vineyards have featured (in varying proportions) in every single vintage of our Elenay Shiraz blend to date

Tasting Notes

A provocative violet purple colour with expressive nose of fresh and ripe dark fruits, exotic spice, dark chocolate and hints of amaro.
The palate is powerful and intense with fine silky tannins around a complex core of blackberry, mulberry and dark plum fruit. There are notes of warm brown spices, dark chocolate and fresh espresso adding another layer.
This is a seductive wine with velvety texture and long and refreshing finish.

Definitely slightly overt in the (premium French) oak department as a youngster, but of course this is the style of Elenay. We have seen how the punchy oak 'folds' into the fruit with time in the cellar, and this vintage will be no exception.
Pure awesomeness….
Drink 2024 to 2035+