- South Australia - $65-$100
- Cork
- 14.0%alc
A wine with a very long lineage (some say first release 1957, some 1955 or 1953, there's even been remarks of 1896), the St Henri presently marks Penfolds' attempt at an ultra-premium, multi-regional South Australian shiraz made without the use of new oak.
Very ripe and meaty, with a stewy fragrance of prunes, currants and dried fruit, the typically fruit forward St Henri's nose is supported by undertones of violet, menthol and cinnamon, displaying good depth of layered aromatics. Its initially essence-like, dark fruited palate extends into meatier, stewed flavours of exaggerated ripeness in a leathery, old fashioned style. Fortunately, the 2005 St Henri balances itself out with great length of fruit and an assertive coating of naturally firm, lifted and fine grained tannins (with some thanks to a 10% cabernet component), delivering more than adequate structure.
O Undoubtedly a result of its season, the 2005 St Henri is a fraction ripe for my tastes, however, it'll continue to please its many fans and age gracefully for at least another decade or so. Drink 2015-2021.
91 points
Love that price range. Bout sums things up I reckon ;)
ReplyDeletej
Hmmm, I do tend to find the more expensive a wine the more variable its price range, especially for those which are more widely available.
ReplyDeleteI must mention though, all of my price ranges are based on individual (not bulk i.e. dozen buys) retail prices - from the cheapest I'VE seen to the most expensive.
I also must confess - David Jones Liquor is responsible for my right hand price points in a large number of cases, if you want the worst wine prices in town.....
I asked an employee what the deal with their ridiculous prices (and lack of customers) was. They told me that the liquor outlet was mainly used by staff who had a 10% store discount - fairly useless when you consider a good amount of their wines are 20% above retail ;)
Cheers