The Auswine Forum

Odd bottle in cellar which has been there some time from a moist & most unremarkable vintage. The colour was deep with no browning and fill level excellent. the moment this bottle opened and was decanted the aroma (too good for a mere "nose") showed style and depth with immediate strength and mulberries. Although Stephen H. rates this as not yet at its peak, I thought it was well into its drinking window and absolutely delightful with primary fruit still present and that hint of sweetness of fruit (not sugar) you get typically from Eden valley shiraz at or near its peak. It will certainly develop more secondary flavours from here but as a noted necrophiliac I would still prefer it at its current stage of development (drink now or cellar up to 5 years safely). A tribute to the older style of MtE as opposed to the last few years which have tended to be earlier peak drinking.

As a longtime stalwart supporter of MtE back to 1970s, in a pantheon of recent MtE it is not as good as 90/94 but I prefer it to the others of the 90s - and at least on a par with the underrated 91/92 (confessing that my limited tasting of the 96 & 98s was somewhat disappointing even as to potential).

fred

Fred

As a veteran Mt Edelstone drinker, what do you think has been the change in style reference the 96 vintage onward?

I have a lot of MtEd. I have found people critical of the wine on release, but it comes into it's own after time in the cellar. The 88,90,93,94 have been wine experience highlights for me. The 95 is a very good wine from a lessor vintage.

96 onward is where the most critism occurs-though evidence suggesting the 96 blossoming with patience.

Very interested in your impressions of the evolution. Those earlier Edelstones Australian classics so why what may be the more worked and approachable style? Contemporary Edelstones peak in 10 years but the earlier from good vintages demanded 15+ according to Henschke vintage charts.

James,

The vintage charts are/were accurate - the mt Edelstone coming into its own at 10+ years and peaking at 15+.

In fact that proved to be a double problem for Henschke: slow to bloom when so much wine was being consumed young, and just after HOG really hit the marketing/price heights, the verticals regularly showed what many of us had believed for decades- that after more than 10 years MtE outshone HOG. Now that was an obviously unsatisfactory situation - hence the cessation of verticals with HOG & MtE side by side.

The corollary was to also change/lighten the style of MtE - which appears to have been done. MtE is still a good wine, but I am not convinced at this pricepoint it is as good a wine for my purposes as it was.

It is also very difficult to face paying $60+ for a wine that my cellar notes record I was buying(ok a different vintage) for $2.77 per bottle.....but then my first tasting note (blind) of HOG said "this just may be the best quaffing red I ever taste"...while I rated the MtE higher as a serious wine.

So look at the prices now and go figure...there is no doubt that the wines are well-crafted but Arch Baker (of Lindemans marketing, I. H. Baker & Co and then Fesq & Co in that order of memory serves me correctly) can take an awful lot of credit for both the manner and style of the promotion.

I think the 94 was the last MtE I really rated as topnotch older style, but I would be delighted to see a return to the older MtE style as the heavyweight longterm proposition in a completely different style to Grange/Armagh etc but a genuinely serious wine with regional style....ahhh to grow old and where the bottoms of our trousers rolled - but what is this world all full of care if we have no time to stop and stare - but htat is no longer the way of the world!

fred

Fred

Thanks. A terrific insight. The evolution of Mt Edelstone warrants a thread in itself! The wine has been around since 1952 and the single vineyard nature makes interesting history.

You have confirmed my suspicions about the contemporary approachability of the Edelstone style. As I mentioned, wine highlights for me have included the 86,88,90,94. Fantastic shiraz that eats up the competition IMHO reference commercial blockbusters.

The 98 a nice wine. Drinks well early but I can help think a classic cellaring style more desirable to the loyal Henschke army as opposed to what seems a worked and approachable wine.

Personally, I hope to see a return to the more rustic and classical style, especially considering the yields of the only long term Henschke cellaring proposition, HofG, are so low.

Warrants a seperate thread this topic. The experiences of long term Henschke consumers who can recall what the wines were like young, a great insight into the evolution.

What were the young 70s/80s Edelstones like? I recall Halliday in a 20yo wine book being critical of one vintage that blossomed into a classic! I suppose wine writers evolve too.