96 points - "An open textured, rich and flavourful wine with boysenberry and Madagascan vanilla. A potent spice vein races through the palate, engaging the drinker and hooking one's interest. Anchored by dark, concentrated fruit, the wine accentuated by hints of sarsparilla, juniper and clove. This combines juiciness and liveliness with a warming embrace, showcasing richness, power and regional character." - Toni Paterson MW (Halliday Wine Companion)

96 points - "Blue-ish purple appearance of good depth and saturation. This smells very promising but still unevolved. Jammy berries, dried spices and herbs, mocha, and minerally earth notes meet the nose. The middleweight palate flows ripe and seamless, deep and satisfying, with nicely integrated superfine tannins carrying a long finish. Needs time to blossom fully but should have an outstanding future." - Ralph Kyte-Powell (The Real Review)

95+ points - "Top of the tree wine from Thomas, as ever. Vines planted in 1969. And who doesn’t love saying KissShiraz as quick as possible to get the funnies going.
Dark and brooding red, broad shoulders, intense and layered with ripe berry/cherry fruit, smoky spice elements, touches of turned earth, autumnal leaf, pepper, graphite and crushed rock minerality. Big focus of flavour, deep and rich. It’s chewy with its woody elements but the flavour profile of fruit is to the task. Bold, distinctly Thomas and Kiss, and will have its fans for that." - Mike Bennie (The Wine Front)

Gold Medal - 2023 Hunter Valley Boutique Wine Show

Winemaker's Comments

Kiss Shiraz is a cheeky name for a serious wine. It is an individual vineyard Hunter Valley Shiraz, grown on the tough clay/loam soils of the Pokolbin Estate vineyard (planted 1969). These naturally low-cropping vines consistently produce fruit with exceptional depth and concentration. This is the benchmark Shiraz for Thomas Wines, expressing the very best qualities of each vintage. The first vintage of Kiss Shiraz was in 2001, and since that time this label has received countless wine show awards and accolades.

In almost a carbon copy to the 2021 vintage, the 2022 season experienced some early and mid-season rainfall delaying the ripening process. However, our green crop thinning has certainly paid dividends once again with this vineyard. Needing to reduce the crop to absolute minimum levels, we removed approximately 30% of the fruit approximately half way through veraison in the first week of January. Ultimately cropping at 1.6T/Acre (28hL/Ha) enabled the vines to fully ripen and the fruit was picked in excellent condition.

The 2022 Kiss Shiraz was hand-picked on the 23rd of February, cold-soaked for 24 hours, and then fermented on skins for a further eight days. The wine was then matured for 16 months exclusively in premium French oak (300L) hogsheads, 20% of which were new barrels, the balance being one and two year old oak.
After bottling, the wine rested in our climate-controlled cellar for ten months prior to release on the 18th of May 2024.

Whilst this wine is certainly enjoyable in its youth, it is destined to be regarded as a classic in years to come.

Tasting Notes

The colour is a vivid youthful purple with a ruby hue. The nose is bold and savory with notes of ripe, dark coloured fruits, sarsaparilla, and warm brown spices.

The palate is complex and layered with cascades of fresh damson plum, acai, black and boysenberry fruit intertwined with a frame of fine velvety tannin and crisp acidity. There's hints of black pepper, tea smoke and espresso with an ironstone note adding a savoury minerality.

This is a powerful yet vibrantly aromatic and elegant wine with a long finish and plenty of years ahead.

Drink 2024 – 2035+