PENFOLDS St Henri Shiraz 2020
- SKU:
- 4163542
- UPC:
- 2310061670646
Grange is the star of the Penfolds range and Australian fine wine in general but for those who find all the new oak too much we recommend turning to Grange’s loyal sidekick St Henri. It’s a multi-regional blend of Shiraz from Barossa Valley McLaren Vale Port Lincoln Robe Padthaway Clare Valley and Adelaide Hills including grapes from the Magill Estate where Penfolds was born. It was matured for 12 months in a large neutral oak vat. This imparts very little wood influence so you are hit with a wallop of pure black and red fruit laced with spiced crème Brûlée chocolate meaty black olives and dried herbs. Almost Northern Rhône like this is a unique Australian wine that everybody should taste at least once in their lives. And when you compare the price to that of Grange maybe more than just once.
Penfolds is certainly Australia’s and possibly one of the world’s most iconic wine producers. Established in 1844 it boasts an enviable history that most wineries in the Old World would give their right arm for. Most famous for its flagship wine Penfolds Grange which is the very definition of Australian fine wine and the 1955 vintage was even described by Wine Spectator as one of the “Wines of the Century”. Penfolds owe much of their success to Max Schubert their winemaker who travelled to Europe after World War II and came back with all kinds of secrets. His innovative often multi-regional blends have become part of the DNA of Penfolds and now the wines are the choice of connoisseurs and collectors all over the world.
Always the most unique, savoury and graceful red in the Penfolds stable, beloved for the fact it does not see any new oak (just 12 months in large, seasoned vats) and thereby emphasises the unadulterated purity of South Australian Shiraz. And the dry, low-yielding 2020 vintage has delivered an already approachable St Henri whose score may well improve with further maturation (in the meantime I wait with rapt anticipation for the 2021…).
More McLaren Vale fruit joins the Barossa and Clare parcels this vintage thanks to late summer rain, and the result is a textured, mineral, fresh-fruited profile that conjures up rhubarb, cherries and wild strawberries along with seaweed, curry spices and polished leather enveloped in dusty, textured tannins.
Drink 2023 - 2050
Tina Gellie, Decanter.com (June 2023)
SKU No.: 4163542
Style No.: 988846
Region: South Australia
Grapes: Shiraz
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 14.5%
Volume: 750ml
Allergens: Sulphites
Grange is the star of the Penfolds range and Australian fine wine in general but for those who find all the new oak too much we recommend turning to Grange’s loyal sidekick St Henri. It’s a multi-regional blend of Shiraz from Barossa Valley McLaren Vale Port Lincoln Robe Padthaway Clare Valley and Adelaide Hills including grapes from the Magill Estate where Penfolds was born. It was matured for 12 months in a large neutral oak vat. This imparts very little wood influence so you are hit with a wallop of pure black and red fruit laced with spiced crème Brûlée chocolate meaty black olives and dried herbs. Almost Northern Rhône like this is a unique Australian wine that everybody should taste at least once in their lives. And when you compare the price to that of Grange maybe more than just once.
Penfolds is certainly Australia’s and possibly one of the world’s most iconic wine producers. Established in 1844 it boasts an enviable history that most wineries in the Old World would give their right arm for. Most famous for its flagship wine Penfolds Grange which is the very definition of Australian fine wine and the 1955 vintage was even described by Wine Spectator as one of the “Wines of the Century”. Penfolds owe much of their success to Max Schubert their winemaker who travelled to Europe after World War II and came back with all kinds of secrets. His innovative often multi-regional blends have become part of the DNA of Penfolds and now the wines are the choice of connoisseurs and collectors all over the world.
Always the most unique, savoury and graceful red in the Penfolds stable, beloved for the fact it does not see any new oak (just 12 months in large, seasoned vats) and thereby emphasises the unadulterated purity of South Australian Shiraz. And the dry, low-yielding 2020 vintage has delivered an already approachable St Henri whose score may well improve with further maturation (in the meantime I wait with rapt anticipation for the 2021…).
More McLaren Vale fruit joins the Barossa and Clare parcels this vintage thanks to late summer rain, and the result is a textured, mineral, fresh-fruited profile that conjures up rhubarb, cherries and wild strawberries along with seaweed, curry spices and polished leather enveloped in dusty, textured tannins.
Drink 2023 - 2050
Tina Gellie, Decanter.com (June 2023)
SKU No.: 4163542
Style No.: 988846