The Auswine Forum

1984 Henschke Mount Edelstone Old Vine Shiraz (Barossa Ranges)
From ungrafted dry grown vines planted in 1920. 12% A/V. Brick red and slightly cloudy. Showing its age but very good condition. On opening, the bouquet reeked of dirty earth, feral animals and hints of Brett, which were almost unbearable. Also very dirty and feral. After 20 minutes, cleaned up. Now nice aromatic black fruits, spice, leather and seriously raw meat. Still some sweetness of fruit evident. Palate is very elegant. Better than it should be or what its reputation suggests (Henschke say past its best). More cabernet-like than shiraz but had good length and nice structure. No tannin, acid or oak pokiness. Has aged gracefully and is clearly ameliorating into its final sleep.
86/100

1991 Henschke Mount Edelstone Old Vine Shiraz (Barossa Ranges)
14% A/V. Jeremy Oliver’s highest pointed Mount Edelstone at 95 points with the 1990 and 1993 ( ) Heaps of sediment (lost 20% of the bottle on decanting!). Mid red with some brown edging. Superb clarity. Bouquet is quite beautiful with its rich, ripe sweet fruit, lovely oak, smoke, complex salami and gamey nuances. Very focussed and still youthful. Wine has excellent length and beautiful balance. A quite stunning wine entering its secondary phase. Raw yet fine. Still youthful and will live for many years. I love it now anyway. Everything a shiraz should be. Caveat: Minor aberration is a slightly alcoholic finish. Will get a run for its money from the 1994 (admittedly variable) and 2001 (plus 2002?) once they both hit their straps in a decade or more. Super wine and superior to the 91 Hill of Grace had last month. :thumbsup:
93/100

1995 Henschke Mount Edelstone Old Vine Shiraz (Barossa Ranges)
Mid red. Lighter than the 1991. Bouquet is very savoury and gamey and strangely strongly reminiscent of an fountain pen ink jar and aged cheddar. Not as ripe as the 1991. Very oaky for first two hours with hard tannins and introverted fruit. This wine needs plenty of air. Fruit not as well defined as the 1991 and oak is heavy handed (or fruit under-ripe). Clearly a weaker vintage. I don’t think there is any point holding onto this. After three hours better balance and softer but tannins remain quite resiny and unrefined. Drink it now while its humming (rather than singing), and just edges out the 84.
88/100

2001 Henschke Mount Edelstone Old Vine Shiraz (Barossa Ranges)
Deep red/purple. My third bottle of this over past two years (seems to be hanging around a lot). Impressive bouquet and palate. Lovely fine tannins and quality black cored fruits. Really well structured and powerful. Needs a decade. Note to self: this is worth a look (again, after many years of under-performance). The 2002 is supposed to be even better. Welcome back Mount Edelstone. Almost like the 1991 but younger.
91+/100

Nice notes Danny - thanks.

Have you tried the '99 of late? I had this about ten days ago and was very, very impressed (as good as the '01 for mine, with more complexity as you would expect). Like you, hanging out for the 2002.

Also, I thought the Edelstone was Eden Valley?

Cheers,

Not had the 99 recently. According to back label:

"The beautiful and historical name Mount Edelstone is a translation from the German 'Edelstein' as 'gemstone'. In 1839 Johann Menge, a German geologist, mineralogist and gardener explored and surveyed the regions around Adelaide in the new free colony of South Australia, on behalf of George Fife Angas and Colonel William Light. He travelled through the Barossa Range and named rivers and hills including Mount Edelstein, which with time was anglicised to Mount Edelstone....Eden Valley wine region, 4 km north-west of Keyneton in the Barossa Range of South Australia."

Think both are correct then?

Great notes Danny,

I have always been a ME fan and have found them to be an elegant wine.
Overall, I feel their QPR is excellent.
When you are fortunate enough to have a good bottle from a good vintage (last great one I had was the 94), I think the ME can be stunning.

I am comparing the 99 ME to the 98 Stonewell on Saturday night, so I will post my notes. (don't have any 98 ME..)

Both the 98 Stonewell and the 99 Mt Ed are too young to drink now.

I found them very closed and tight and they would just not give off the tremendous fruit that lay beneath. Perhaps after 3 hours the Mt Ed was the wine that showed more.

The Stonewell palate was dark red berries with plums and the oak was still prominent, whilst the Mt Ed was very earthy and jammy. The texture was smooth and silky for both, with tight finishes on the palate. Not overly long aftertastes, but perhaps that will change over the next few years.

I would leave the Mt Ed for another 2-3 yrs and the Stonewell for 5yrs.

I rate both of these wines highly and truly look forward to drinking them in time.
Mt Ed - 92 pts
Stonewell - 91 pts

I tried the 02 today. Very, very good and a return to form. It is still a contemporary style which may disappoint those with Edelstone experience from a decade ago.

I have a full bottle I will consume over the next few days and will post a note.

The wine is bottled in stelvin at cellar door. Cork elsewhere. $68.

Danny..

I had a bottle of the '98 Mt E at the week end.A nice wine but no where as good as the '94 I tried last month.The '94 just had more of everything you want in a Henschke Mt E.

Cheers
Enzo...

I had a 95 last night and it was excellent. Recent experiences with this vintage have disappointed- uncannily similar to Danny's note above.

The 95 Mt Ed a few years ago was my preferred premium shiraz from that difficult vintage. Clever use of oak adding complexity when the fruit was primary. Recently, the oak has come out on top and bottles I have taken home to Hong Kong haven't travelled well with a tired, dirty finish.

The bottle last night was blossoming, probably peaking with meshed, mature blackfruits melding beautifully with the oak. Sits comfortably in the mouth with a hearty finish of good persistance and some welcome warmth ( cold in the Barossa last night ). It was a 91 point wine for me with recent bottles more consistanty in the upper 80's.