Description
St Henri is a time-honoured and alternative expression of shiraz, and an intriguing counterpoint to Grange.
It is unusual amongst high quality Australian red wines as it does not rely on any new oak.
Released for the first time by Penfolds in the early 1950s (first commercial vintage 1957), it gained a new lease of life in the 1990s as its distinctive style and quality became better understood.
A wine style not succumbed to the dictates of commerce or fashion.
St Henri is rich and plush when young, gaining soft, earthy, mocha-like characters with age.
Penfolds St.
Henri Shiraz 2011 vintage is a deep plum colour.
The nose is vibrant with aromas of charcuterie on the outset followed red fruits to crushed pepper, green olive and cinnamon.
The palate has an impressive linear structure.
Flavours of cranberry and boysenberry come through blending to green melon and green olive.
This is a sinewy, structural wine.
Slim and peppery with mulch-like notes to the nose.
It’s a wine it would be easy to write off, and indeed many will.
And yet the inbuilt complexity and length of flavour are both upper echelon.
There’s some intrigue here.
Game, spice, beef stock, boysenberry, violet.
It’s pretty but not in a magazine-cover way; it’s more a wine to grow old with.
It boasts exquisite ribbons of tannin.
– Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front The Finer Details Style – Red Wine Varietal – Shiraz Country – Australia Region – McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley, Adelaide Hills, South Australia Vintage – 2011 Bottle Size – 750ml ABV – 14.5%
