Hi Tim,
Thank you for the opportunity to share these wines with you.
I’ve been seeking the best possible pricing and range of wines to offer you.
Unfortunately, the 2016 Bin 707 is in very short supply and we have not been able to secure it at the initial price indicated.
I have added some extra detail about each of the wines available including reviews where possible.
I’ve been fortunate to drink many Penfolds wines from between 20-50 years in age when consumed. Most recently I had a 1970 Bin 28 to celebrate a friends birthday just 2 weeks ago. It was in excellent condition and a great bottle.
If you need any further information, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Cheers,
Paul
Provenance
All wines are either direct from winery with the exception of the Penfolds Bin 707 vintages between 2000 and 1985. The Penfolds Bin 707 vintages between 2000 and 1985 have been stored by a collector under climate-controlled conditions since being purchase on release. Please read the notes carefully as some of the wines are noted as being passed their prime.
Closure & Packaging
Closure and packaging details for each wine are listed in the purchase form.
A NOTE FROM STEPHEN HENSCHKE
Screwcap is close to being the perfect closure for wine; however it is not properly understood, as it should be, as a quality closure in some market places. Prue and I discovered the Vinolok at the Stuttgart Intervitis in 2004. We were very impressed by the high quality finish of the glass stopper and environmental advantages. It had won the European Innovation Award.
Not long after that we brought the first Vinolok closures to Australia and embarked on a five-year trial, conducted with the Australian Wine Research Institute, to do the due diligence. The quality of presentation, reliability and robustness of the glass stopper makes it an ideal replacement for cork. Red wine in a 750ml bottle ages under Vinolok as if it were bottled in a large-format bottle, it maintains its colour, aroma and structure over a longer period of time.
Availability
Correct at date. Will be confirmed at time of order.
Terms
Price – Is the best price based on a minimum purchase of 60 bottles.
Payment – In full is required on invoice.
GST – All price listed exclude GST. To ship these wines excluding GST they must be shipped within 60 days of invoice.
Shipping Costs & Taxes – You are liable for all shipping costs and taxes incurred from the time the wine is collected from us.
Ownership – Ownership will transfer to you at the point the wine is collected from us by your chosen shipping agent / courier.
Shipping
As discussed we currently don’t ship internationally.
You will need to organise shipping, collection.
We will pack the wine depending on the volume to be shipped and in discussion with you. Additional fees may apply.
We recommend that you discuss to ship larger volumes on a pallet with your chosen courier. Many couriers will charge additional fees for transporting wine in individual boxes.
We can offer packing in foam with cardboard outers boxes at $20 per 12 bottles. This only applies to bottles without boxes.
About Penfolds
Winemaking
About Henschke
The Henschke family first planted vines in Australia in 1858. Now 6 generations later they have built an enviable reputation as one the world’s great wine families.
Today, it is fifth-generation winemaker Stephen Henschke and his viticulturist wife Prue at the helm, passionately upholding the family name and reputation.
Being mindful of their role as custodians
Stephen and Prue continue to craft their white wines with a focus on purity, while their red wines have a strong focus on terroir, using traditional winemaking techniques.
“Prue and I are the current ‘keepers of the flame’. Just as earlier generations have done, we want to manage the vineyards and winery so they can be passed on to the next generation in better condition than we inherited them. The last 50 years have been an incredible journey for the Australian wine industry. Hill of Grace and Mount Edelstone are arguably the two oldest single vineyard wines produced in this country that tell the wine story of Australia. Our vision would not be complete without the expectation that future generations will uphold and perpetuate our belief that such ancient and unique single-vineyard sites can produce exceptional wines that are prized for their beauty and rarity.”
– Stephen Henschke
Viticulture & Winemaking
Tim's Special Offer
About the Wines
2016-1985 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon
2016 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon
Bin 707 was first vintaged in 1964. The wine was not made from 1970 to 1975 (when fruit was directed to other wines) nor in 1981, 1995, 2000, 2003 or 2011 (when fruit of the required style and quality was not available).
Bin 707 perfectly reflects the Penfolds ‘House Style’ through a cabernet sauvignon lens: intensely-flavoured fruit; completion of fermentation and maturation in new oak; expressing a Penfolds understanding of multi-vineyard, multi-region fruit sourcing. Bin 707 was first vintaged in 1964.
Full-bodied and with proven cellaring potential, Bin 707 retains a secure place among the ranks of Australia’s finest cabernets.
Penfolds Reward of Patience Notes for all vintages of Bin 707
Here’s a link to Penfolds notes and drinking windows for all vintages of Bin 707 through to 2010.
The 2016 Vintage
Autumn and winter were relatively dry and cool across South Australia. Temperatures during the growing season were significantly above the long-term average in all regions, with Coonawarra recording nine days above 35ºC in December alone. Record low rainfall prevailed through September to March with the annual rainfall in Coonawarra 38% down on the average. The McLaren Vale region also experienced record low rainfall and warm weather in late spring/early summer.
Cooler conditions in late February favoured the late ripening cabernet sauvignon. The Barossa Valley had 100mm less than the long-term average winter rainfall. Spring and summer were both relatively dry and warm. December was particularly hot, with access to water vital to support the vines. Some relief arrived in January and February when temperature dipped significantly. Cooler weather and rain in March slowed ripening. After a hot beginning, the welcome milder ‘Indian summer’ conditions leading into harvest across South Australia ensured even ripeness and optimal flavour.
Origin: Multi-regional blend, South Australia. From Coonawarra, McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley and Adelaide Hills.
Maturation: 20 months in new American oak hogsheads.
Wine Analysis: Alc/Vol: 14.5%, Acidity: 6.8 g/L, pH: 3.69.
Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon.
Continue cellaring. Peak drinking 2022 – 2050.
Packaging: Individual gift box
The scents of Indian ink and vivid, new American oak take center stage, followed by redcurrant, blackcurrant and meaty aromas, as well as a sanguine, iodine edge. The palate confirms the sense that this needs a good rest. Deep and dense, the attractively chewy tannins are draped in rich, ripe blackberry and blackcurrant flavors. This is a vibrant wine, with significant tannin layering that needs to rest a little. Coonawarra, McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley, Adelaide Hills fruit sourcing. 20 months in new American-oak hogsheads. Try from 2024. Should peak after 2030.
Cabernet sauvignon from Coonawarra, McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley and the Adelaide Hills. 20 months in new American oak.
Okay. All the Penfolds wines taste and smell the same but this tastes and smells different. There goes that theory. Orange liqueur, blackcurrant, choc mint, peanut brittle. It’s big, powerful and sleek; you could fly to London in this. It has the tannin handshake of a hero and such bulging arms of fruit that they’d do a gaol gym rat proud. Of all the wines tasted on the day this was the one I drained the most; my lips were locked to the rim. It wasn’t me, it was the wine. It’s compelling. Iron fists always are.
100 Points - Andrew Caillard MW
98 Points - Joe Czerwinski, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
97 Points - Campbell Mattinson
96 Points - Tyson Stelzer
95 Points - Huon Hooke
95 Points - Anthony Rose, Decanter
20+ - Matthew Jukes
17.5 - Jancis Robinson
2000 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon
1999 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon
This 1997 version of Bin 707 was tasted as part of the Penfolds Rewards of Patience tastings in 2007. I don’t have information of where each vintage is sourced from but I will fill that in later. I was looking forward to this 1999 because it’s a vintage that has provided a lot of high. However …
At this tasting the 1999 Bin 707 didn’t quite seem to pull off the style. Savoury elements to the strong, minty, curranty power of it, though it’s easy to suspect that the tannins are starting to pull out away from the fruit, as if the fruit is being out-muscled. That said, those tannins are very pure, very ripe, and very difficult to ignore. Hard to assess at this stage of its development maybe. There’s sweet fruit herre with leafy edges. Drink : 2010 - 2018
1998 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon
This monumental 1998 version of Bin 707 was tasted as part of the Penfolds Rewards of Patience tastings in 2007. I don’t have information of where each vintage is sourced from but I will fill that in later.
This is a ‘wow’ wine. Mint and blackcurrant, strong and straight. Oak here has been majorly consumed – though what wouldn’t succumb to such a boom of gorgeous, dark fruit flavour? Big tannin, big minty fruit, quite phenomenal. Length and purity. A star. 2030. Drink : 2012 - 2030
1997 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon
This 1997 version of Bin 707 was tasted as part of the Penfolds Rewards of Patience tastings in 2007. I don’t have information of where each vintage is sourced from but I will fill that in later.
Smells good and tastes good, but just doesn’t have the stuffing or length to pull the style off. Raisins, blackcurrant, mint and toast. Falls away on the finish. Lots of dry, herbal notes here and lacking both the structure and oomph required. It’ll last but it’s unlikely to get better from here. Drink : 2005 - 2014
1996 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon
Tasted this release of Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon a few times. Near-enough to release, in 2005 and then at the Rewards of Patience tastings in 2007. At all times it’s looked like a serious long termer.
What a massive monster of a wine. What a long way it has to go. Tasted this again in July 2005, and it’s still at least five years from any kind of maturity: gravel, chocolate, flytox, blueberries, and a growling thump of caramel. This is a wicked wine. It’s got dimension and weight and an expansive view of the future. It’s not looking to the next election, it’s looking beyond. Intimidating. Long life ahead.
Later note (2007): Spearmint, milk chocolate, pounds of fresh fruit lift. Oak has been soaked up. Lots of fresh acidity. Lovely balance. Powerful, but now more about simple fruit purity and everlasting structural integrity. Difficult to fault.
1995 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon
1994 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon
This 1994 version of Bin 707 was tasted as part of the Penfolds Rewards of Patience tastings in 2007. I don’t have information of where each vintage is sourced from but I will fill that in later.
Tannin scorched. Lots of tobacco-like fragrance. Smells beautiful actually. Cassis, mouth-coating tannin, mint, tobacco and cloves. Huge grunt of flavour. A really good 707. Big and structured, oak-polished and statuesque. This needs to be assessed as a 20 year old. Drink : 2010 - 2020
1993 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon
This 1993 version of Bin 707 was tasted as part of the Penfolds Rewards of Patience tastings in 2007. I don’t have information of where each vintage is sourced from but I will fill that in later. This was from a cool year, and it shows.
Flowing bangs of tannin. Attractive varietal characters, leaf matter, cassis, cherries, cigar, and leather. Lighter, more herbal, more developed that the earlier years of 1990 and 1991 The tannin is unbalanced here, and while the flavours are light they are appealing. Drink it before the tannins completely take over – and while the fruit still has some appeal. Drink : 2003 - 2013
1992 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon
This 1992 version of Bin 707 was tasted as part of the Penfolds Rewards of Patience tastings in 2007. I don’t have information of where each vintage is sourced from but I will fill that in later. This wasn’t one of my most preferred vintages.
All-too-weird for my liking. It smells of aldehyde, boot polish, spearmint and chocolate. Some old wet cigar too. Palate continues this strange mix of flavours. Though at the same time, you have to nod at how fresh it is; this has still got a lot of time left to run. Heavy tannin (too much so). It will hold for a long time but I doubt that it will get better. Drink : 2004 - 2015
1991 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon
This Bin 707 was tasted as part of the Penfolds Rewards of Patience tastings in 2007. I’m planning on publishing all my Bin 707 notes during this week, vintage by vintage. I don’t have information of where each vintage is sourced from but I will fill that in later.
Suffers a little in comparison to the gigantic 1990. Still, this 1991 version is a highly successful wine. Tannin probably a little too strong for the elegance of the fruit. Extravagant flavours of coffee and aniseed. Blackcurrant and toast. Excellent length. Needs its tannin to calm so that its elegance can shine. Drink : 2011 - 2022
1990 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon
This vintage of Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon was tasted as part of the Penfolds Rewards of Patience tastings in 2007. I don’t have the exact regional designations for these Bin 707s so for the moment take the regional credits here as stopgaps only.
I didn’t fall in love with as many of the 1990 Penfolds reds as I expected at this tasting, but this Bin 707 rose gloriously above the pack. It’s still an essence-like wine. It’s rich, ripe, raisiny and chocolatey with enormous cassis-powered flavour. Tannins are fine-grained – something that couldn’t be said of earlier vintages of Bin 707. Indeed this wine has a gorgeous spread of fine tannin, and it’s this tannin that begins a more modern era for the wine. Lots of acidity. A pearler of a wine. Drink : 2008 - 2024
1989 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon
This 1989 version of Bin 707 was tasted as part of the Penfolds Rewards of Patience tastings in 2007. I don’t have information of where each vintage is sourced from but I will fill that in later.
Developing nicely. Has a fresh juiciness that the older wines lacked. Clean, juicy, complete. There are indeed some tomato-leaf characters, but the integrated, interwoven nature of the wine presents them positively. Lots of tannin, mind. And a fair degree of fruit sweetness still, as though the grapes used to make it were a mix of slightly unripe and slightly over-ripe. Treacle-like in some ways. I enjoyed it. Drink : 2001 - 2016
1988 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon
This 1988 version of Bin 707 was tasted as part of the Penfolds Rewards of Patience tastings in 2007. I don’t have information of where each vintage is sourced from but I will fill that in later. This 1988 is a wine of character.
Fresh musk and vanilla. Yes, in a 20 year old wine. Mint lifting up out from it, in a positive way. Palate is tannic, dry and gamey but juicy, set to a style but pulling it off. A successful wine. It will sail on pretty much unscathed for another decade. Perhaps what you would call a slightly grubby style – I prefer, when it tastes good as this does, to call it charcterful. Drink : 2007 - 2018
1987 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon
This 1987 version of Bin 707 was tasted as part of the Penfolds Rewards of Patience tastings in 2007. I don’t have information of where each vintage is sourced from but I will fill that in later. I wouldn’t be fighting over this one at auction.
Lots of dry varietal herb-like flavours. Clearly a cool vintage wine. Finishes bitter, too. Toast, bourbon, salt. Doesn’t sound much chop but I didn’t mind the taste of it; rather idiosyncratic (the wine, not me). In good shape, but fading. Capsicum-riddled finish. Most folks wouldn’t much enjoy this, as a guess. Drink : 1988 - 2011
1986 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon
This 1986 version of Bin 707 was tasted as part of the Penfolds Rewards of Patience tastings in 2007. I don’t have information of where each vintage is sourced from but I will fill that in later. The wines around it – 1985, 1987, 1988 and 1989 aren’t stellar wines so the pressure was on it …
This one is a gem. Sweet-sour aromatics, in a seriously attractive way. Smoky-sweet palate, full of lively herb and leather and malt. Layers of flavour and interest. Spicy almost too. Maybe exotic is a better word. Great length. Great tannin. Finishes regal and long. A beautiful aged cabernet. Drink : 2000 - 2016
1985 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon
This 1985 version of Bin 707 was tasted as part of the Penfolds Rewards of Patience tastings in 2007. I don’t have information of where each vintage is sourced from but I will fill that in later.
Well developed and indeed, past its prime. An immensley rustic wine and while that can be a positive in many wines, it’s got the better of this one. It’s dried out and hard, with flavours of horse and leather, tar and game. Lots of lots of drying tannin here. Never a great wine. Drink : 1992 - 2004
Henschke Wines
2010 Henschke Hill of Grace Shiraz
Grape Variety 100% shiraz grapes from pre-phylloxera material brought from Europe by the early settlers in the mid-1800s and grown organically and biodynamically on the Hill of Grace vineyard in the Eden Valley.
Technical Details Harvest Date: 19 March-4 April | Alcohol: 14.5% | pH: 3.52 | Acidity: 6.6g/L
Maturation Matured in 65% new and 35% seasoned (95% French and 5% American) hogsheads for 18 months prior to blending and bottling.
Background Over 165 years ago Johann Christian Henschke came from Silesia to settle and farm in the Eden Valley region. By the time third-generation Paul Alfred Henschke took over the reins in 1914, the famous Hill of Grace vines were more than 50 years old. They were planted around the 1860s by an ancestor, Nicolaus Stanitzki, in rich alluvial soil in a shallow fertile valley just north-west of the winery. The red-brown earth grading to deep silty loam has excellent moisture-holding capacity for these dry-grown vines, which sit at an altitude of 400m, with an average rainfall of 520mm. Hill of Grace is a unique, delineated, historic single vineyard that lies opposite a beautiful old Lutheran church which is named after a picturesque region in Silesia called Gnadenberg, meaning Hill of Grace. Cyril Henschke made the first single-vineyard shiraz wine from this vineyard in 1958 from handpicked grapes vinified in traditional open-top fermenters.
The 2010 Vintage
The 2010 growing season was preceded by above average winter rainfall. Spring was mild with little frost damage and gave us an even budburst. The weather remained cold and wet through spring, which held back growth until a two-week high 30s heat wave in November affected flowering and fruit set. Spring rains continued into early summer right through until mid-December, making it the wettest year since 2005. The vines responded to the heat and grew vigorously until early January, developing lush canopies, but bunch development suffered as a result. A roller-coaster ride of heat spikes and cool changes continued through a warm summer with occasional thunderstorms. The vines went through veraison a week earlier than 2009. Lower yields coupled with the mild ripening period resulted in concentrated fruit. Vintage began a week earlier than 2009 and was in full swing by mid-February. The white vintage was all but finished a month later while the red harvest continued with deeply coloured, well-balanced grapes being picked during mild, dry conditions until the end of April.
Wine Description Very deep crimson with violet hues. An alluring nose of exotic spices, cracked black pepper, licorice, sage and crushed herbs, complemented by sweeter notes of blackberry, plum and cedar. The complex palate has dark, brooding flavours, rich layers, texture and balance of natural acidity, while the refined, silky tannins provide incredible length.
Medium garnet in color, the 2010 Shiraz Hill of Grace reveals a slightly reticent yet beguiling nose of kirsch, dried mulberries and plum preserves with nuances of star anise, potpourri, cloves, dusty earth and menthol. Medium to full-bodied with youthfully taut, mouth-filling perfumed berry preserves and exotic spice flavors, the fruit is well framed by rounded, polished tannins and seamless freshness, finishing with incredible length. It could still benefit from 2-4 years in bottle before entering its drinking window but is already stunning.
The 2010 vintage will be remembered as one of the most perfect renditions of this single site planted to vines dating back to 1860. The signature spice and sage leaf are here. It's bursting with an array of dark brown spice aromas and pepper. The fruits run from raspberry to deep blackberry, cassis and blueberry fruits. Blue plums too. The palate is immensely smooth and soft. It floats with richness yet lightness. The balance is superb and the finish runs so long and deep. It goes on seemingly endlessly, saturated in old vine Shiraz flavour yet perfectly poised. This is the Eden Valley equivalent of Burgundy's Le Chambertin, a a bottomless well of flavour, elegant yet profoundly powerful and the finest release yet in a superb run of recent vintages.
This release is both a beauty, and not for everyone. It’s complex and fascinating and more than a little mesmerising. I can honestly say that I loved the time I spent with it. But it also has notes of truffle and heightened blackcurrant, and not everyone appreciates said flavours. We move on. We’re swept forward. The licorice, the leather, the lace of stem and tannin. It feels cool climate and warm climate at once, in a beautiful way. It rocks and it rolls. It will mature beautifully, perhaps even profoundly, its rolls of complex flavour gradually unfurled and unveiled.
2013 Cyril Henschke Cabernet Sauvignon
Matured in 42% new and 58% seasoned French hogsheads for 18 months prior to blending and bottling.
BackgroundThis wine carries the name of Stephen’s father, Cyril Henschke (1924-1979), as a tribute to one of Australia’s outstanding winemaking pioneers, renowned for old-vine single-vineyard and quality varietal table wines. Cyril planted cabernet sauvignon at Henschke’s Eden Valley vineyard in the 1960s.
The 2013 Vintage
The lead-up to the 2013 vintage saw an early onset of summer, with occasional thunder-storms and only four heat spikes, into the 40s, over summer. A cooler than average January followed by a warm February, brought the predicted early vintage even further forward. Even after the dry-fecta of winter/spring/summer the word from the winery floor was that it would be another great Eden Valley riesling year, followed up with some great old-vine shiraz. Fortunately, a desperately needed 16mm of rain came, the first for nearly six months, at the beginning of March to help the dry-grown vines struggle through to full maturity. The roller-coaster weather ride continued through March with almost weekly cycles of hot and cold. Cool drizzly weather at the end of March nearly brought the harvest to a halt, but with a return to the Indian summer conditions in early April, it gave us a chance to get the late varieties in Eden Valley over the line, predominantly cabernet sauvignon and merlot, returning us to another great vintage of average yields and fabulous rock solid quality.
Grape varieties: 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 5% Merlot
Technical Details: Alcohol 14%, pH 3.53, Acidity 7.3g/L
"Cabernet from the Eden Valley has its own cool personality – and absolute authority. It is blackcurrant rather than cassis, with tannins that are firm but not dry, and an elusive touch of mint. The franc and merlot have helped the cabernet show a bit of love, the French oak likewise."
This is a very ripe vintage that delivers a greater sense of flesh and flavor to this cooler-climate cabernet blend. Red cherries, mulberries and red plums with cassis and sweet earthy, spicy notes. The palate has alluring soft, deep tannins bathed in flavorsome, rich fruits. A blend of 88% cabernet sauvignon, 7% cabernet franc and 5% merlot. Drink or hold.
2015 Henschke Mount Edelstone Shiraz
The Mount Edelstone vineyard, situated in the Eden Valley, was planted in 1912 by Ronald Angas, a descendant of George Fife Angas, who founded South Australia. Unusual for its time, it was planted solely to shiraz. The ancient 500 million-year-old soils on the vineyard are deep red-brown clay-loam to clay, resulting in low yields from over 100 year-old dry-grown, ungrafted centenarian vines. First bottled as a single-vineyard wine in 1952, it became recognised as one of the greatest shiraz wines in Australia.
Matured in 78% French and 22% American (22% new, 78% seasoned) hogsheads for 18 months prior to blending and bottling.
The 2015 Vintage
A traditionally wet winter, mild spring and excellent fruit set provided a great start to the 2015 vintage after four vintages with below average yields. Spring was dry and led into a very mild, dry summer with no disease, resulting in fruit with higher natural acidity and incredible flavour and colour concentration. A dry, warm and windy start to January, however, resulted in one of the worst bushfires in the Adelaide Hills in living memory, though well away from our Lenswood vineyards. By the end of the first week, relief came with 60-75mm of rain and a record-breaking coolest January in 11 years. With the onset of veraison at the end of January, the rain was perfectly timed for the old dry-grown vineyards, and the mild weather that followed from February through to April provided for a fairytale vintage. Most of our white varieties and some Eden Valley shiraz were in before Easter, moving on to the rest of our Eden Valley and Adelaide Hills red varieties soon after, and eventually winding down at the end of April as the rain and cooler temperatures set in. The 2015 vintage has provided stunning and elegant shiraz from Eden Valley, that show extraordinary flavour, purity of fruit and acid balance with the potential for excellent ageing.
Grape varieties: 100% Shiraz
Technical Details: Alcohol 14.5% pH 3.48 Acidity 6.3g/L
Excellent vintage, 30+ years (from vintage)
It’s grown on vines that are now 103 years old. It’s matured in 78% French oak and 22% American, and all-up 22% of this oak is new. It was first bottled as a single vineyard wine in 1952.
Distinctive aromatics. Leathery, almost gamey, with potpourri and roasted plums, blackberry, bay and clove flavours. It’s both soft and zesty, beety and earthen, but also sweet and floral. You get an array. You get an experience. It’s so different to the Hill of Roses, but obviously no lesser. Life. It tastes like a life well lived, or an expression of that, though it’s certainly a wine of vigor. As you drink it the words classic lands in your mind.
A very profound sage note here with wild brambleberries, bay leaf and subtle oak influence, cast across a green-peppercorn and mint-tea nuance with such bright red berries and plums. The palate has a super plush and elegant shape and fine, velvety-tannin texture with plush, long red plums. Such poise and elegance with length and concentration here. An exceptional vintage for Mount Edelstone. Drink or hold.
97 Points - James Halliday
96 Points - Nick Stock, jamessuckling.com
96 Points - Campbell Mattinson
98 Points - Huon Hooke
1992 Henschke Mount Edelstone Shiraz
Grape Variety 100% 80-year-old single-vineyard shiraz grapes grown in the Eden Valley wine region.
Technical Details Harvest Date: Late April | Alcohol: 13.5% | pH: 3.39 | Acidity: 5.9g/L
Maturation Matured in French and American (new and seasoned) hogsheads for 18 months prior to blending and bottling. Bottle aged at Henschke Cellars in Keyneton for museum release.
Vintage Description The lead-up to the 1992 vintage saw a late wet winter, although the yearly rainfall was 50mm below average. The mild spring was ideal for flowering and encouraged excellent berry set. A long, dry, cool summer with the coolest January on record delayed harvest. Despite the predictions being just above average, actual yields were only 10% less than the big 1990 vintage.
Wine Description Crimson with brick red hues. Sweet red and black fruit aromas with savoury herbal notes of sage, bay leaf and black pepper, and a hint of leather and roast meats. The palate is lush and complex with dark fruit, chocolate and dried herb
2013 Henschke Hill of Roses Shiraz
This wine is named as a tribute to Johann Gottlieb Rosenzweig, one of the early Barossa Lutheran pioneers who settled at Parrot Hill in Eden Valley. Their toil, perseverance and conservatism in hardship has meant the many generations that followed have rejoiced in the riches of those efforts. Shiraz, growing on the fertile slopes in the Eden Valley region, is just one of those blessings. The wine was produced from a small selection of low-yielding dry-grown shiraz vines from the Hill of Grace vineyard, named the Post Office block, that were a mere 23 years old at the time of picking and therefore considered too young for inclusion into Hill of Grace Shiraz. The quality of the grapes from this selection produced a wine that was too good to be declassified and warranted a separate bottling and limited release. The Post Office ruins are on the land that was previously Rosenzweig property, the Rosenzweig name translating from German to ‘rose twig’.
Matured in 50% new and 50% seasoned French oak hogsheads for 18 months prior to blending and bottling.
The 2013 Vintage
The lead-up to the 2013 vintage saw an early onset of summer, with occasional thunderstorms and only four heat spikes, into the 40s, over summer. A cooler than average January followed by a warm February, brought the predicted early vintage even further forward. Even after the dry-fecta of winter/spring/summer the word from the winery floor was that it would be another great Eden Valley riesling year, followed up with some great old-vine shiraz. Fortunately, a desperately needed 16mm of rain came, the first for nearly six months, at the beginning of March to help the dry-grown vines struggle through to full maturity. The roller-coaster weather ride continued through March with almost weekly cycles of hot and cold. Cool drizzly weather at the end of March nearly brought the harvest to a halt, but a return to the Indian summer conditions in early April gave us a chance to get the late varieties in Eden Valley over the line for another great vintage of average yields and fabulous quality.
Grape varieties: 100% Shiraz
Technical Details: Alcohol 14.5%, pH 3.68, Acidity, 5.1g/L
Excellent vintage, 30+ years (from vintage)
Made from the re-planted portion of the Hill of Grace vineyard. Or in other words, 100% from the Hill of Grace vineyard, but from the newer vines growing there. These ‘new’ vines (planted in 1989) were the result of a highly specific and intellectually-rigorous selection/cultivation process. Hill of Roses Shiraz is exclusive to the Henschke cellar door. It’s matured in all-French oak, 50% new.
There’s a firmness but there’s so much fruit, so much flavour, so much texture. This is liquid velvet in red wine form. Ripe plum flavours surge through the palate, dark chocolate, orange rind, woodsy spice and musk notes keeping pace throughout. Tannin is both firm and an exercise in finesse. In its youth, according to the Henschkes, the tannin seemed chunky but that’s certainly not the case now; the word complete is apt here.
A juicy and rich wine here with layers of ripe tannins and ripe fruit. Full body. Blueberries with grilled meat and subtle smoke undertones. Flavorful and tasty. Hard not to open now. Drink nor hold.
98 Points - James Hallidau
96 Points - Nick Stock, jamessuckling.com
96 Points - Campbell Mattinson
96 Points - Huon Hooke
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