Right….There’s been a fair conjecture about the amount of oak in some of the Hunter Valley 2014 wines that have been released in the last few months.

Thomas Wines, Kiss, Shiraz, Hunter Valley, 2014*

This been opened for 3 hours, and I hate to say it, there’s still more than a wet tongue of oak in this Kiss. However, that is followed with smoky morello cherry, baked tart, new leather and even a smidge of vanilla char. Palate gives a raw smack of the same oak, before black raspberry and Christmas cherry fruit that lasts long with just a little bit of amaro herb complexity. Baked/ white pepper sounds like a klaxon over the fruit. The winemaking is deft, but please please let this stay dormant for a while.

*Disclaimer: I spent some time with Thommo helping out during 2014 vintage, but had little to do with the winemaking process of this wine.

RRP: $75
Alc: 14.2%

Wine sample courtesy of Thomas Wines