TN: Henschke Tasting Night

[Guest]

Myself and a partner in crime went to the Henschke tasting night put on by Liquor Barons in Mt Lawley in Perth. An excellent night with some disappointments, some surprises and some stunning wines.

When we first walked in (TORB would have choked!) each place had four glasses lined up, all containing whites. The host quickly announced there were plenty of reds to come. Wines were served in flights of four with several minutes for notes followed by discussion of the wines. The format for each wine was the current vintage followed by a back vintage.

Flight 1
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2002 Tilly's Vineyard
A blend of semillon and chardonnay, not my style. Pale yellow in colour with a fairly tight nose hinting at grass and buttered bread. Definitely not for me, struggled to rate it a Good.

1994 Tilly's Vineyard
Golden yellow, better nose than the first with citrus fruits and hints of what I thought was kero! I could have sworn there was some riesling in it but apparently not. Once again, not for me, but it was slightly better than the first.

2002 Julius Riesling
This is more like it. Pale yellow with a good nose of lime, citrus and hints of kero but not over the top. Good balance, nice crisp acid and a long finish. VG+

1994 Julius Riesling
This is why I still drink whites...golden yellow with a nose of kero, orange peel, lemon and lime. Great mouthfeel, rounded, smooth with lots more of what was detected on the nose. Superb and will go years yet unless the acid, which has faded slightly, continues to fade. E-

Flight 2
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2001 Crane's Chardonnay
Vibrant pale gold with a nose of lemon, buttered toast, slightly closed but getting there. Smooth, rich, buttery palate in the heavily malo style but with a disappointingly short finish. G+

1997 Crane's Chardonnay
Pale gold, with a very strange nose of some sour acidic fruit. Palate was reasonable with a good finish and nice balance but the nose was so bad I gave up on it. F

2000 Keyneton Estate
Ruby red. Powerful nose of earthy sweet plums, rich palate of plum and blackberry, soft integrated tannin, long finish, drinking very well right now. E-

1996 Keyneton Estate
Dark purple. Nose was totally close (and I mean totally). Palate was smooth with hints of sweet fruit and liquorice, soft tannin and a fading finish. This appears to be well and truly over the hill which is a surprise for a 96, perhaps a bad bottle.

Dinner of lasagne and salad with a 2002 Henry's Seven. I was too busy talking and forgot to takes notes but it wasn't a bad drop.

Flight 3
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2000 Abbott's Prayer
Vibrant ruby. Nose of plums, violets, very floral and quite rich. Light weight palate with good fruit and a medium finish with solid tannins. The fruit was definitely there but seemed a bit light. Not good QPR and a bit disappointing. VG-

1995 Abbott's Prayer
Ruby red with slight browning around the edges. Complex nose with little fruit but had earth, leather, boot polish and a few unidentifiable things going on in the background, very interesting. The palate was smooth and silky, well integrated but as with the 2000 lacked weight, medium finish and again not good QPR to my mind. VG

2001 Mt Edelstone
Deep purple. Very tight nose of cassis, a touch of oak, vanilla fudge, started to open up in the glass revealing hints of blackberry. Big powerful palate of blackberry sweet cherry, very tannic with a long finish. Very classy and well balanced but way to big and tannic right now, but does have the fruit weight to carry it. I would say don't open for about 10 years, until I tried the next wine...

1992 Mt Edelstone
Purple in colour with a strange nose of burnt rubber, very little fruit left, started to open up with hints of plum and a bit of earth. Smooth and perfectly balanced palate with a very long finish. Rated this as VG, but was disappointed with the nose which is why I wonder about the ageing of the 2001.

Flight 4 (and a bit of controversy!)
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These last wines had all been decanted since midday.

1999 Cyril Henschke
Dark red. Nose was a bit closed and brooding, promising rather than really delivering, with hints of plum, earth. Opened up after about 15 mins in the glass with more fruit showing through, revealing the power it was hinting at when first poured. A mighty powerful palate, full bodied, very long finish with great balance despite the power, smooth tannins. Needs years but will definitely deliver. E+

1995 Cyril Henschke
Red/purple with only the faintest hint of browning. Fantastic nose of vanilla, liquirice, sour cherry, leather, earth, so much going on here. Palate was smooth, medium bodied slightly fading fruit (that's only compared to the 1999, still plenty there really) and lots of secondary characters, nice balance and perfectly integrated. First outstanding wine of the night. O

1995 Hill of Grace
Deep red/purple. Nose was refined but restrained, complex revealing cherry, black pepper, savoury spice. Powerful and tannic palate but still felt refined and classy, very good fruit and a finish so long you wondered if you were imagining it. Wow, I wish I could drink this every day. Obviously needs a lot of years to settle but it has everything you could want. O+

1987 Hill of Grace
Deep brown/red. Nose of cherry, red currants, tar, leather but not altogether great. Palate lacked fruit and had a short finish with very little tannin. Interesting but very disappointing.

The notes for the 87 HOG were written as I sampled the wine. I was very disappointed and surprised I would be writing such notes about a wine that was to be the highlight of the evening, but I wrote it as I saw it. As the silence began to lift and people started talking, it quickly became obvious a lot of people thought the same thing. It was brought to the attention of our host who had a show of hands. I side of one table said it was the best wine of the night, the other side of that table and all of our table said it was very ordinary. The host handed around his glass (from the same bottle as the first half of the first table) and it was a totally different wine. Seeing our disappointment, our host deftly plucked a magnum of 1992 Hill of Grace and popped the cork, and I am glad he did...

1992 Hill of Grace
Deep red/purple. Rich nose of sweet fruit, vanilla fudge, spices and herbs, floral notes, loads of things going on, something new every time I lifted the glass. Palate was powerful but so refined and elegant at the same time, hard to explain. More fruit weight even than the 95, with a nice balance of oak supporting it. Perfectly balanced, perfect structure, smooth integrated tannin, basically perfect all round (or as close as I have ever tasted). This was just awesome, not the power of a Grange but more refined and elegant and definitely as good. This rates as good as anything I have ever tasted! O+++++

[PaulSheldon]

I was sure I had logged in, that last one was me!

[Gavin Trott]

I was sure I had logged in, that last one was me!

Thanks Paul

Nice of you to go along and taste all those wines, just for us.

The notes are great, thanks.

[PaulSheldon]

Gavin

Glad to be of service to the group, should I expect a cheque in the mail?

[Gavin Trott]

Gavin

Glad to be of service to the group, should I expect a cheque in the mail?

On way.

[TORB]

1996 Keyneton Estate
Dark purple. Nose was totally close (and I mean totally). Palate was smooth with hints of sweet fruit and liquorice, soft tannin and a fading finish. This appears to be well and truly over the hill which is a surprise for a 96, perhaps a bad bottle.

Paul,

No doubt about it. I am drinking my way though some 96's now and they are wonderful.

[MartinC]

Fully agreed, the '92 HoG is Amazing Grace IMO underated.
I found the most appealling part of Cyril & HoG is their very similar and unmistakable gorgeous sweet berries bouquet.

Any idea how '99 Cyril stack up against their '98?
I love the '94, simply one of the best Bordeaux blend fr AU.

[JamieBahrain]

Thanks for the considerable effort in posting your notes Paul.

I have many of these wines in the cellar.

Fingers crossed, despite mixed reports, my faith in the 92 HofG warranted. Was the last vintage I bought a whole case of-$480 from memory.

Am looking forward to trying the 01 MtEd. There is a gun vintage due!

[simm]

Thanks Paul, great notes!

Do think you had a bad Keyneton 96. I tried some through last year and am keeping my last bottle for another year at least. As I recall the nose was big with slight meaty bouquet at first, lifting to reveal an earthy nose with a lovely floral nature. Can't remember the fruit flavours on nose or palate, but do know that it was exceptionally smooth and flowed like river without a ripple but undercurrents were delicious.

cheers,

[Mike Hawkins]

Jamie,

You're right - a gun vintage of Mt Edelstone is due. Unfortunately, from what a few mates tell me, the 01 wont be it !

Mike

[PaulSheldon]

Simm

I would have to say based on Ric's comments, other notes I have read, and the fact that 96 was one of the best vintages of the decade and that most now seem to think it will also be a long lived vintage in comparison to others, I would think it was a bad bottle. Perhaps if someone were to send me a bottle to try I could confirm this

[Geoff]

Jamie,

Was that US$? Or perhaps a small case? The reason I ask is that the '92 was on the mailing list for $92 (sort of sticks in the memory ...).

Geoff

[JamieBahrain]

Geoff

Aussie dollars. The case was a groovy, silver coated, six pack. Purchased retail.

Mike

[Thomas Taber]

I'm not a regular member here, but I want to thank all of you for posting your thoughts regarding the '92 HOG. I've purchased a couple of bottles of the '92 HOG, and I wasn't too sure about it. The price was high and I have yet to try any Aussie wine that was worth as much as I paid for these two bottles. I feel much better now...lol.

What about the '91, '94, 96 & '98???

Thanks again!

Thomas

[Mike Hawkins]

Thomas,

I think the 91 and 98 will turn out as the pick of those four. The 96 was a tad disappointing for an outstanding vintage.

[Guest]

http://www.auswine.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1234

I guess that makes the 1998 the pick of the four then? Any other notes for the 1991 about?

[PaulSheldon]

That's interesting Mike, I have yet to try the 96 HOG but if I remember rightly Jeremy Oliver said it was the only wine he had ever tasted that had a perfect palate (whatever that means to him). It certainly ought to be good considering the overall quality of the vintage.

[Mishy]

Quoted by Paul Sheldon:
1992 Mt Edelstone
Purple in colour with a strange nose of burnt rubber, very little fruit left, started to open up with hints of plum and a bit of earth. Smooth and perfectly balanced palate with a very long finish. Rated this as VG, but was disappointed with the nose which is why I wonder about the ageing of the 2001.

Paul, I tasted the '91 in Vancouver last week, here's my TN from a rather abundant Oz Shiraz tasting:

Henschke Mount Edlestone Shiraz '91 - This was a favourite of mine as it was elegant and beautifully evolved. Some aromas of warm plummy fruit, licorice, bandaide, slatey mineral and phenol. The palate was long and carried silky tannins. Very beautiful and perfectly evolved.

It think it has a few years left in it, but it seems quite perfect now.

Cheers,
Mishy

[simm]

Simm

I would have to say based on Ric's comments, other notes I have read, and the fact that 96 was one of the best vintages of the decade and that most now seem to think it will also be a long lived vintage in comparison to others, I would think it was a bad bottle. Perhaps if someone were to send me a bottle to try I could confirm this

hahahahahaha
cheers,