Wednesday Wines – Episode 257 – 2021 Henschke Single Vineyard Releases
Embargoed until 26th March 2025
Stephen and Prue Henschke have taken to giving their vintages neat catchphrases. Some of the Bordelais do this, too, with varying degrees of success. This year’s rallying cry for the release of the 2021 vintage single vineyard wines is ‘A Vintage Graced by An Ancient Land’, which I rather like. Stephen and Prue took a trip to Antarctica, which they described as a “wild, layered and ancient landscape with a mountain range that connects to the nearby Mount Lofty Ranges”. This staggering fact inspired their chosen motto, relating to their venerable terroir in the form of a tribute to these soils. After a couple of tricky vintages, this indomitable couple smiled as we waltzed through the wines. Prue’s job is to express the sense of place of each wine, and Stephen’s job is to get the magic into the bottle in one piece. With a beautiful ripening period, on account of gentle weather patterns and only five days over thirty degrees, it was the coolest summer for 30 years, and these conditions have protected the floral notes and vital acidities which bookend the glorious flavours. It has been clear for a few years that 2021 is a superb vintage, and it has been worth the wait for this exultant set of wines.
Here are my notes on the wines recorded from an online tasting with the couple a month ago.
2021 Keyneton Euphonium Barossa Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Franc Merlot
RRP £45.00
Made from 60% Shiraz and 40% the other three grapes, this is a wickedly expressive Euphonium with a spicy, open and extremely welcoming stance on the palate. Instantly appealing and generously deep, this wine is a superb introduction to the Henschke portfolio, and it represents their important grape varieties, the twin sub-regions, their own vineyards, and those of their greater family and friends. In this respect, it is a clever amalgam of all this fine label represents, and it swings in at an affordable price tag, too. It is also widely available in the UK and internationally distributed, too. So, when I report that this is the finest and most impressive Euphonium in my memory and a siren call for this brand, I hope everyone who has enjoyed a Henschke wine and everyone who has yet to step up to this marque gets involved. In addition, it is just about drinking. While it is not quite as silky or as polished as the Eden Valley brigade (below), it wears its heart on its sleeve, showing a fair degree of glamour, glorious depth and a remarkable array of fruit notes and spices, all delivered in a waterfall of delicious flavours. 18.5/20 (Drink 2026 – 2035)
2021 The Wheelwright Eden Valley Shiraz RRP £125.00 (6th release)
Cyril planted this vineyard in 1968, and Prue describes its training as a ‘lazy Scott Henry’, which is marvellously evocative if nothing else! This is a red-fruited, pretty and gentle wine with a stunning brightness and pristineness that shocks the senses. The soils here bring firm acidity to this wine, underpinning the plush cherry and raspberry tones, making it invigorating, exciting and alive. I am very taken by the cool elegance found here, and this is undoubtedly the most engaging and detailed Wheelwright to date. While it already looks enticing, there is no doubt that it will blossom fully if you can hold off a couple more years. 18.5+/20 (Drink 2028 – 2040)
2021 Cyril Henschke Eden Valley Cabernet Sauvignon RRP £150.00 (41st release)
I love Cyril, and this stunning 2021 takes up its position in Australia’s great pantheon of Cabernets because of its sheer quality, detail, and glittering uniqueness. No other wine tastes like it, making it an essential part of any Cabernet lover’s repertoire. North facing and late-ripening, the 2021 vintage romanced this vineyard, encouraging it to give its best possible fruit, and this has resulted in an even more fragrant wine than usual with heady violets, cassis, plums and even more exotic floral breeds than I have encountered, before in this noble wine. Gorgeous, silky tannins, give it the air of a relaxed and welcoming wine, But don’t be seduced by the apparent genial and approachable air. Of course, this is an elegant and controlled wine akin to a St-Julien-flavoured Pomerol (if there is such a thing). Yet, this flavour and texture could only come from the Eden Valley’s unique climate and Prue’s tremendously delicate viticulture. This is a landmark vintage for Cyril, and I cannot wait to see how it evolves because I have a half-point in reserve, just in case I need it. 19+/20 (Drink 2028 – 2045)
2021 Mount Edelstone Eden Valley Shiraz RRP £175.00 (68th release)
Even though the vines are over 100 years old, Prue reports they are still vigorous and profound. East-facing and lapping up the morning sun, Mount Edlestone is fabulously expressive and uncommonly aromatic in 2021, and I swear the colour is a couple of pantones darker than usual, too. You are presented with an ostentatious bunch of flowers on the nose, and it takes a few heartbeats for a deep red wine experience to occur. While you find your bearings, the thrum of a throaty engine kicks in, and while the tannins seem imperceptible to the taste, you can see them pulsating on the finish. This is an action-packed silent movie of a wine and while the volume of flavour is tremendous, there is a keen chalkiness and degree of athletic refinement that tethers the whole experience to the ground. Calm, deliberate, detailed and celestial, Prue knows when to pick this wine, and I feel she has nailed each bunch with Swiss precision in 2021 because every sip has effortless grace despite the scale and directness of the flavour. This wine has a thrilling future ahead of it, and it is another horizon-expanding example of what this incredible vineyard is capable of. 19.5+/20 (Drink 2030 – 2050)
2021 Hill of Roses Eden Valley Shiraz RRP £350.00 (16th release, 20 years of Hill of Roses)
Made from 32-year-old vines, it appears that in the 2021 vintage, Hill of Roses has finally discovered its own distinct identity. Stephen thinks it is a wise head on a young body. I feel that this vintage shows that Hill of Roses is the true ambassador that welcomes you to HoG via a route through the centre of the ‘village’ instead of via Edelstone, which is not the same shape or size as either of the wines drawn from this site. Once again, I sense a Pomerol-like texture, with fondant, deep, indulgent velvetiness. Curiously, I often record Merlot-like notes for these Shiraz wines, and this is the only place on earth that draws out these descriptors from this grape! There is a lot more to this wine than meets the eye, and while it appears forward and unusually open, it is a thin veneer of geniality and freshness that gives this impression. Beneath the surface is an amazing amount of unbridled energy and activity, which is restless and stunningly complex. This is a remarkable Hill of Roses and a wine that will make the long run. 19/20 (Drink 2029 – 2050)
2021 Hill of Grace Eden Valley Shiraz RRP £675.00 (59th release)
Stephen and Prue reported there was enough fruit in 2021 to allow picking, block by block, and in perfect harmony. Hill of Grace benefits from the afternoon heat, resulting in a darker, deeper core than the other wines. While its scale is breathtakingly impressive, there is thrilling elegance here, too. This is a spectacular wine from start to finish, with every molecule in its place. There is a complete directory of this vineyard’s flavours on display in this wine, seemingly cataloguing every nuance from the glorious, inaugural 1958 until the present day and delivering them in epic harmony. It seems to embrace its ancient history and communicate it in a thoroughly modern language, and while you can taste it today and marvel at its greatness, I think I am only privy to around 80% of its potential. Over the ensuing two decades, we might be able to add a per cent or two more insight into just how magnificent this wine is, culminating in a perfect 20/20 vision of a perfect 20/20 wine around 2045, whereupon it will hold for those with even more patience! What a privilege. 2021 is a genuinely humbling wine, and it represents another chapter of wonder in the legend of this ancient land. 20+/20 (Drink 2035 – 2060)
If you want to read about a comprehensive tasting of Hill of Grace back to the 1958 vintage, click this link.