Henschke Louis Eden Valley Semillon 2003
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Named as a tribute to Louis Edmund Henschke (1919-1990), who owned and managed the Hill of Grace vineyard for 40 years. His expertise as a vigneron has resulted in a legacy in the form of the famous vineyard being maintained using long-term organic principles. A part of the semillon is sourced from 45-year-old vines from the vineyard. The semillon variety has been traditionally used in Australia for the production of dry, full-bodied white wines with excellent ageing properties.
The year 2002 goes down as being the coolest, windiest ‘non-summer' on record, following on from our hottest summer on record in 2001. It was preceded by a wet winter and a spring that was cold, wet and windy. The drizzly cold weather affected the flowering and caused poor fruit set, commonly known as ‘hen and chicken'. In particular riesling and shiraz, Eden Valley signature varieties, were the worst affected with crop reductions leaving less than 20% in some varieties. In addition the season was 2-3 weeks late due to the unseasonable cold weather. With the smaller crop level, the balance of sugar, flavour and natural acidity in the fruit were excellent. Despite the pitiful crop, 2002 was one of our most exceptional vintages ever, helped by the warm dry Indian summer autumn period, providing sensational colours, flavours and ageing potential.
Green gold in colour. Sweet delicate fragrant lemon grass, clover blossom, gooseberry and lemon blossom aromas with hints of lanolin and biscuity oak. Soft sweet fruit; rich intense and herbaceous with excellent depth, texture and length. Quite restrained with excellent potential for long development and ageing.
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Henschke is one of Australia’s leading winemakers and grapegrowers. Henschke is recognised for its rich heritage, innovative spirit and commitment to handcrafting exceptional wines for 150 years. The Henschke family’s grapegrowing and winemaking tradition spans six generations, from outstanding sustainable vineyards in Eden Valley, Barossa Valley and the Adelaide Hills. The small-medium wine business has an annual crush of 700 tonne and employs around 50 staff. Prue Henschke manages the 105 hectares of vineyard, spanning from Eden Valley to Lenswood in the Adelaide Hills wine region. Henschke is one of Australia’s leading winemakers and grapegrowers. Henschke is recognised for its rich heritage, innovative spirit and commitment to handcrafting exceptional wines for 150 years. The Henschke family’s grapegrowing and winemaking tradition spans six generations, from outstanding sustainable vineyards in Eden Valley, Barossa Valley and the Adelaide Hills. The small-medium wine business has an annual crush of 700 tonne and employs around 50 staff. Prue Henschke manages the 105 hectares of vineyard, spanning from Eden Valley to Lenswood in the Adelaide Hills wine region. Stephen and Prue continue to craft their white wines with a focus on purity, while their red wines have a strong focus on terroir, using traditional winemaking techniques.
Sémillon has the power to create wines with considerable structure, depth and length that will improve for several decades. It is the perfect partner to the vivdly aromatic Sauvignon Blanc. Sémillon especially shines in the Bordeaux region of Sauternes, which produces some of the world’s greatest sweet wines. Somm Secret—Sémillon was so common in South Africa in the 1820s, covering 93% of the country’s vineyard area, it was simply referred to as Wyndruif, or “wine grape.”
Higher in elevation and topographically more dramatic than the Barossa Valley floor, Eden Valley abuts it to its south and east. While it is a bit of an extension of Barossa, Eden Valley is topographically different than the pastoral Barossa Valley, and is composed of rocky hills and eucalyptus groves.
Recognizing Eden Valley’s potential with Riesling in the 1960s and 70s, producers started to move their Riesling production from Barossa to these better sites where schist soils on hilltops would produce more steely, tart and age-worthy examples. A most famous site, planted by Colin Gramp, called Steingarten, today produces one of the most outstanding Australian Rieslings. Youthful Eden Valley Rieslings express floral, grapefruit and mineral, while with time in the bottle, they become increasingly toasty and complex.
Riesling isn’t the only grape the region can grow; undeniably at lower altitudes Shiraz does very well. Mount Edelstone is a notable vineyard as well as the Hill of Grace, which boasts healthy Shiraz vines well over 100 years old. This is the only Australian region where Merlot has a made a name for itself and Chardonnay can be spectacular, particularly from the High Eden subregion in the southern valley.