Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Australian Wine Companion
St Henri has always been one of my favourite Penfolds wines. A multiregional shiraz aged for 12 months in large, old oak vats, I was always enamored with its less percussive attributes and proven lineage of cellar worthiness. Crimson with pure notes of plum compote, cherry clafoutis, roasting meats, earth, spice, ironstone, mocha, pan juices and the fainest wisp of wintergreen. It's such a comforting wine, with its unobstructed view of fruit and vintage, finishing savoury with powdery tannin grip and a dusting of cocoa powder and coal dust. Lovely stuff.
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Wine Enthusiast
Plush, rich and perfumed, the 2020 St. Henri shows intensity and layers of aromas from blackberry jam and plum to roasted root veg seasonings such as ground pepper, sage and fennel seed. The plush palate is harmonious, with concentrated fruit and powerful, chalky tannins. Still in its infancy, this is a classic choice for the cellar and should age gracefully for many decades to come.
Cellar Selection -
Wine Spectator
Stunning for its intensity and appealing for its density and purity of fruit flavors, this red features huckleberry, marionberry and wild blackberry notes at the core, with details of salted black licorice, toasted cumin, bittersweet chocolate and gingerbread, backed by perfumed notes of violet and lavender that linger on the finish, where the tannins have an appealing grip. Drink now through 2039.
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James Suckling
Dense, dank and brooding. A very warm vintage, serving an incantation of licorice strap, clove, camphor, dried nori and a spicy backdrop to a flood of dark, saturated fruits. Often the cuvee that I prefer most, however the tannins in this instance are more four-square, burlier, thick grape skin-gritty and less resolved than usual. A bit drying. The oak, classy and firm, compressing and directing. Best after 2028.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Routinely my favorite red cuvée in the Penfolds Collection (matured in large-format seasoned French oak), there is always a freshness and suppleness to the fruit that is most elegant in the glass. Here, the 2020 St Henri Shiraz shows the warm and low-yielding season from whence it came in the splay of roasted beetroot, red fruits and meats on the mid-palate. A chunky, meaty iteration of this wine, the tannins are grippy and full in the mouth. You get aniseed and clove through the finish.
Since 1844, Penfolds has been grounded in experimentation, curiosity and uncompromising quality. Their success has been driven by a lineage of visionary winemakers. It began with Dr. Christopher and Mary Penfold, the pioneers who dreamed big, inventing tonics, brandies, and fortified wines made from grapes and Australian sunshine. It continued with celebrated winemaking legends including Max Schubert, who pushed the development to extraordinary, bold new heights. It is this pioneering spirit and curiosity that still rings true after nearly two centuries, it is what has helped Penfolds become one of the most celebrated winemakers in the world today.
Though Syrah originated in the Rhône Valley of France, Australia is home to the oldest Syrah (called Shiraz here) vines on the planet. Found in Australia’s Barossa Valley, where phylloxera has never threated viticulture, these ancient vines are between 140 to 175 years old!
Having brought fame and merit to the country’s wine scene since the early 1950s, namely via the debut of Penfolds Grange, today Syrah (Shiraz) claims rank as the most widely planted grape in Australia. In fact, the amount of land dedicated to Shiraz in Australia is now almost equivalent to what it is in France. Australian Shiraz has its own personality with flavors and aromas of intense blackberry, fruitcake, menthol, tobacco leaf and umami. Conveniently one can find great Australian Shiraz at a variety of price points but the very best will be dense, gloriously complex and capable of long aging.