The Auswine Forum

[url=https://www.cellartracker.com/event.asp?iEvent=39331]NOBLEROTTERSSYDNEY - HENSCHKE - 360 Bar & Dining, Sydney (2/07/2018)[/url]

We return to an old favourite theme, although the spiraling prices of Henschke’s better-known reds are something of a disincentive to buy more. Small crowd too; good thing we had some bonus wines.

• [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=7170424]2012 Henschke Riesling Julius[/url] - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley
  {screwcap, 11.5%} [Graeme] Mid straw-yellow. Quite intense nose of citrus and talc. Somewhat developed, the palate has flavours of lemon with a tang of sherbert, although it’s dry, of course. Maybe some musk too? There’s medium acidity, but the wine has a delicate aspect about it. Light-medium body, with a medium long finish. Will sail through the next decade easily.
• [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=7170427]2015 Shaw and Smith Chardonnay M3 Vineyard[/url] - Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Adelaide Hills
  {screwcap, 13%} [Kim] Cedary oak and sandalwood. Yeasty barrels on the palate, some tangy grapefruit flavours. And plenty of oak. You need to like oak here. Medium weight, medium acid, medium length. Perhaps too young. Perhaps too woody?
• [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=7170440]1996 Henschke Cyril Henschke[/url] - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley
  {cork, 14%} [Graeme] A bottle of this (same provenance) a few years ago was singing beautifully. This is manky and oxidised, even a bit bretty. Obviously at twenty there’s some latitude, but this is sub-par in all sorts of ways. NR (flawed)
• [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=7170428]1998 Henschke Shiraz Hill of Grace[/url] - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley
  {cork, 13.7%} [David] Aged palate, but wonderful; jam, spice, currants. Seductive. The palate offers soft, leathery flavours, juicy, with aging blue fruit – it’s actually richer and more enticing than the nose. It’s medium-bodied, with soft dusty tannins and great evenness along the palate. Medium/long finish. Maybe it’s lifted by a touch of brett character too, but not objectionably so. At peak; I wouldn’t keep it too much longer. Double-decanted a few hours prior.
• [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=7170430]2007 Henschke Cyril Henschke[/url] - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley
  {screwcap, 14%} [Glenn] Cabernet/merlot/franc blended to 75/17/8 proportions. Somewhat developed. Leafy green and polished leather nose. Dark-hued curranty palate. Some gritty/graphite tannin texture – not overly oaky – medium weight, dry, medium length finish. Would probably benefit from more cellar time; far from a charmer, and trading off the Henschke name a bit. I’d expect a bit more ‘wow’ from the flagship cabernet.
• [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=7170435]2004 Henschke Euphonium Keyneton Estate[/url] - Australia, South Australia, Barossa
  {screwcap, 14.5%} [Geoffrey] Rich blueberry jam nose, confected and bright. Something of a fruit-bomb, although leavened by notes of chicory/tobacco. The palate has smoke, blackberries and jam, low/medium dusty tannins and a plummy, merlot richness. It’s medium length, with some complexity of flavours although it’s a bit superficial. Still, it’s a good showing for a fairly modest red blend (shiraz, cabernet, merlot).
• [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=7170436]2007 Henschke Shiraz Mount Edelstone[/url] - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley
  {screwcap, 14%} [Greg] No decant. Youthful nose; charcoal, blueberry muffins, plums. The same intense, deep-chested fruit flavours on the palate as the nose promised. Medium-bodied, maybe a bit more; not heavy or hot but intense and tight still. Needs years to blossom fully but is easily gentle enough on the palate to drink now, despite rather prominent acidity. Lovely enough wine if you have it; but prices are too silly these days to seek it out except in great vintages.
• [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=7170437]2006 Henschke Shiraz Mount Edelstone[/url] - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley
  {screwcap, 14%} [Gordon] Double-decanted a few hours earlier. Very similar in style to the 07, but a bit more open, with more tobacco and blackberry notes. Medium-full-bodied, still with medium/high powdery tannins; oak is subtle though. Does manage a sandy/earthy aspect to the flavours, despite the richness of the fruit. Medium length finish, even palate but fairly low-key (a hallmark of the balance). This should sing in another decade or so; all the elements are here.
• [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=7170441]2012 Margan Sémillon Botrytis[/url] - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
  {375ml, screwcap, 10.5%} [Gordon] Developing, brassy; massively rich and apricotty. Amazingly, has enough acid spine to hold it up. Lots of botrytis character; less marmalade-like than the usual Riverina sourcing for this style of wine. Medium body, medium length. Definitely toward the sweeter end of the spectrum. A bit simple, but enjoyable. Drink now.
• [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=7170442]2009 Cullen Wines Chenin Blanc Late Harvest[/url] - Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River
  {375ml, screwcap, 9.5%} [Gordon] Developing brass and syrupy honey aromas. On the palate has a touch of caramel too, with a brown note, but not botrytis. Medium-bodied, balanced, medium-dry, with a little bit of palate length on the finish, but not a profound wine. Drink up.

cheers,
Graeme

Had 96 Cyril a few weeks ago. Was very good, better than I expected, and better than the previous bottle I had

Henschke was probably at one stage the biggest producer in my cellar. Now I only have a handful of bottles left.

The 96 Cyril has been excellent to me. 98 HofG is a 50-50? Caught up in whatever went wrong in 1998? Warm storage and brett? The 2006 is what you'd expect from Mt Ed.

Never bought Euphonium. Jaded after it replaced Keyneton Estate which was such a great label, just like the dumped Rockford's Dry Country Grenache, after a few years in the cellar the quality was modestly world class. I think it did transpire that the better fruit of Keyneton went elsewhere so the Euphonium wasn't just a name change due labelling requirements.

Graeme, good to see the 2012 Julius doing well...have a dozen of these tucked away.

Re Keyneton Estate, in my top 5 ever buys when Henschke was actually relatable to the average punter...no so now.

Friday wine lunches at the Tattershall's club 30 years ago, with all the leading SA wineries lining up to show and sell their wares...86 KE at $50 a dozen, Mt Ed less than a tenner and Cyril and HOG at sub $200 for a dozen...around $14-16 IIRC

I purchased three dozen of the KE, 86 vintage was a super super wine.

Cheers
Craig

JamieBahrain wrote:98 HofG is a 50-50? Caught up in whatever went wrong in 1998? Warm storage and brett?

I saw the bottle in Graeme's tasting was under screwcap(?) - if that's the case, it's likely that bottle would have been sourced from Stephen Henschke's personal stock, as he was bottling/switching his own stash to screwcap long before it was released to the public under something other than cork...

While not bulletproof, the 98 HOG should have a better survival rate under screwcap due to a lesser chance of exposure to oxygen to bloom the brett to the stage of being utterly revolting - just as long as it hasn't been cooked.

Cheers,
Ian

n4sir wrote:I saw the bottle in Graeme's tasting was under screwcap(?)

Aargh! Tripped up by copy/paste! It was cork-sealed. Original note corrected.
Yes, if there's one winery you'd prefer under screwcap it'd be Henschke.
Stephen expressed his enthusiasm at a tasting I was at back in 2000 where even then the recently-bottled Julius from the same vintage was markedly different between the two seals.
cheers,
Graeme