On Easter Sunday, at a family members home, I had a 2021 Thomas Wines Synergy Shiraz made from a blend of fruit from old vine vineyards in the Hunter Valley. On Monday I opened the Pyramids Road Shiraz the colour was the same as the Thomas Wines Shiraz which has an a/v of 13.5% but there the similarities ceased. The Thomas Wines Shiraz, with a Trophy and two Gold Medals, had a bouquet featuring oak vanilla and spice and the fruit, although quite vibrant, was secondary. On the palate the Thomas was a mixture of vanilla, spice and quite delicious fruit with good balance, the tannins were a gossamer silky svelte experience and the acid more of a background feature.
The Pyramids Road had much less oak on the bouquet, no vanilla and the black pepper spice was from the fruit, the wine is a lot more closed than the Thomas which has intentionally been made for early consumption or short to mid-term cellaring at most. The Pyramids Road with fine tannins offers more lift and drying from the tannins than the Thomas and the acid, comparatively, has just a little tang. The fruit in the Pyramids Road Shiraz has a little more lift from the higher altitude acid but the wine needs more breathing time.
The comparison was interesting because, similar to The Granite Belt, Hunter Valley is classified as a cool climate region but it doesn’t have the same elevation and soils as The Granite Belt. The other feature is that Warren Smith makes wines for cellaring so consumers who are tannin averse will favour the Thomas Wines Shiraz and Show Judges will likely favour the current trend of softer earlier drinking wines. It’s just my personal opinion but I believe wine makers produce their best wines when they make wines that they like to drink themselves, if you make wines for other’s palates or current trends then you’re not centered in your personal artistry.
Many consumers will prefer the Thomas Wines Shiraz and many will prefer the Pyramids Road Shiraz and that’s the way it should be. There are, I feel somewhat unfortunately, less people cellaring wines today than 15 or so years ago.
This 2021 from Pyramids Road Shiraz is a classic Granite Belt cool climate shiraz and made in a cellaring style so currently it needs a long breathe and it gets better and better as it opens up. The Thomas Wines Shiraz is more of a pop and pour proposition, hardly needs to breathe at all and tends not to improve much with breathing.
Have you tried both wines or wines of similar contrast, if so what is your preference? Whatever it is you are right as your own palate cannot be wrong. The opinions of others, whether they’re a wine show judge, professional paid wine reviewer, unpaid wine reviewer, taster for a national publication and the like cannot tell you what wine is better than another, they cannot possibly tell you not to like a wine you do as they don’t possess your palate and there is enormous palatal variation among the almost infinite variability of human beings.
A more valid approach is to forget the points system, show medals and the like they are largely illusory, instead read the reviews and endeavour to find a combination of language that gels with you combined with a palate that seems similar to yours, even then there are gaps and sometimes very large ones. When you read any truly unbiased wine review you are reading the palatal experience of another combined with their skill level to describe their own palatal experience, the reviewer cannot describe your experience, nor can you have their experience. Of course there can be external factors operating that introduce bias to the wine assessment by the reviewer, judge etc. Such factors don’t necessarily reflect or affect integrity they can be more subtle such as ‘perceived current trends’.
I could, I’m sure you feel it by now 😁, write a lot more on this topic but why bother because in the final analysis there is only you and only you are validly the head of judges in your own personal wine show … ENJOY!
Tasted: Monday 10th April, 2023 without food and then with over several hours.
Alcohol: 13%
Closure: Screwcap
Price: $35
Suggested Drinking Window: now to 2038
Winemaker: Warren Smith
Fruit Source: Estate
Oak: Aged French and American Barriques
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