My tastings over the last two days have unearthed two notable shirazes. One is perhaps a little predictably so, for given Torbreck’s performance over the last five years you would hardly expect Dave Powell’s team to miss out on the excellent 2002 Barossa season. But the other came as a complete and total surprise. Torbreck’s The Factor 2002 is a wonderful wine, as sumptuous, smooth and seamless as modern Australian shiraz can be, but without the portiness, aggression and imbalance associated with so many pretenders to this level of throne. I’d also make the point that when these styles of wine are very good, I mark them highly. Personally, I reject the notion that I don’t appreciate the fuller and more substantial expressions of Australian shiraz. I’m just picky about which ones I choose to support. There’s plenty of evidence on this site that I enjoy the better expressions of robust, concentrated Australian red. But big or small, a wine needs finesse if it’s about to impress me. And this is a cracker. The big surprise is a stunning Hunter shiraz by Andrew Thomas, a winemaker who cut his teeth making a decade of top-class red for Tyrrell’s. His 2003 Kiss Shiraz is an astonishingly drinkable wine, so drinkable I fear that very little, if any, will actually be around at its likely peak in around a decade’s time. It’s a modern, oaky style, but it doesn’t attempt to build richness and structure beyond the Hunter’s moderate comfort zone, and its brilliant fruit easily copes with its smart oak. Keep an eye out for this wine! The Torbreck retails nationally around $140. The Thomas is largely available via the cellar door set-up at the Small Winemakers Centre, McDonalds Road, Pokolbin, where it sells for $48. I’d get in real quick, since Andrew Thomas tells me that about half is already sold. His other interesting remark was that in his 20 years as a winemaker in the Hunter Valley, 2003 was the best red vintage he had ever seen. To order this wine, call 02 4998 7668. Tasting notes: Torbreck The Factor Shiraz 2002 Thomas Kiss Shiraz 2003
