Winemaker Notes
Medium garnet with crimson hues. Lifted aromas of red plum, red currant, blue and black berries, rose hip and black pepper, with notes of bay leaf, sage, crushed flowering herbs, anise and hints of cedar. The palate is rich and plush, deep and concentrated with layers of spicy red cherry and red currant, interwoven with anise and vanilla. Balanced acidity gives freshness and poise, finishing with elegant, velvety, fine-grained tannins for a long fruit-driven finish.
Professional Ratings
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Australian Wine Companion
Organic and biodynamically raised shiraz from the Henschke's Eden Valley property; matured in French and American oak for 18 months. An expressive offering from the low-yielding 2019 vintage that shows the trademark Henschke elegance. Supple blackberry and blueberry fruits with hints of fine spice, crushed herbs, sage, redcurrant, purple florals, cedar and a liminal glimpse of wintergreen in the background. Fine, powdered sandy tannins and lacy acidity a simpatico base for the graceful fruits travel across the palate, finishing long and true.
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Wine Enthusiast
With a lucid, evocative, savory nose that is unmistakably Henschke in style, the black cherry, blood plum and raspberry notes are laced with fresh tomato, mushroom and fistfuls of dried herbs, spices and florals. A sweet chocolatey oak note shows now, too, adding polish. The palate is satiny with ultrafine, almost seamless tannins. Supple fruit is edged in spice. Broad and mouthfilling now, this should age gracefully for more than two decades.
Cellar Selection -
Decanter
Red-fruited, with a willowy frame. In short, all the tell-tale signs of The Wheelwright Vineyard, which is Henschke’s most elevated Shiraz site at 470m. A touch of blue fruit and blood plum augments the red berry fruit in the mouth, together with subtle notes of charcuterie, pork and herb sausage, mocha, cassia bark, liquorice, clove, fern and sundried tomato. Cool, graphite tannins fan out on the finish, lending a touch of grip.
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James Suckling
Smoky charcuterie notes mesh with dried lavender, tapenade, eucalyptus and violets. The tannins are firm and pliant. A full-weighted wine that is typical if the region and likely of ample potential. Yet for now, it lacks elegance and is a bit monochromatic. Best after 2028. Glass stopper.
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Vinous
This quite compact 2019 Shiraz The Wheelwright delivers fleshy aromas of boysenberry and crushed spices with a touch of jam in the background. Generously flavored with pliable tannins, the 2019 is undoubtedly a crowd-pleaser thanks to an open-knit and supple finish. This is now at its peak but will hold for a while.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
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.