Penfolds St Henri Shiraz 2018

Penfolds, St Henri Shiraz, South Australia, 2018  

Grape:

100% Shiraz, unoaked. 12 months' ageing in 50+ year old vats. Fruit sourced from vineyards in Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Port Lincoln, Robe, Padthaway, Clare Valley and Adelaide Hills

Colour:

Deep inky blood-red

Nose: 

The veil long clasped by St Henri is aromatically lifted. A 2018 St Henri cork is extracted revealing:

Clinically: The elution of flinty pencil and cordite.

Appetisingly: Warmed black olive - mustardy spiced wild rocket, haloumi.

Savoury: Scents of a parsley salad, eggplant, capers.

Exotically: Freshly sliced fig and cut-rhubarb laced with spices and nuts

Palate: 

Stone fruits and charcuterie savouries abound.

Fresh acidity abetted by the cut-rhubarb noted aromatically above, and liquorice root.

Toasted pumpkin seed flavours, tannin-dry yet not puckering.

Mouth-watering, finely etched tannins ‘mist up’ the palate spectrum – a tactile fog!

Oak – where art thou?

Reviews: 

"The 2018 St Henri Shiraz is a terrific effort, perhaps rivaling the top-flight wines under this label in 1976 and 1986. Remarkably fine and silky in texture yet simultaneously dense and concentrated, it showcases the amazing fruit harvested in 2018. Boysenberry, mulberry and mocha shadings all swirl together effortlessly in a whorl of full-bodied elegance, finishing long and effortless. Mainly Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale, it includes smaller amounts of fruit from Port Lincoln, Robe, Padthaway, Clare Valley and the Adelaide Hills, all aged 12 months in large old wooden vats."

97/100 points, Joe Czerwinski, Wine Advocate, July 2021

From earlier vintages, fans of the style will want to stock up on the 2018 St Henri Shiraz, which is truly a prodigious effort. I think it even exceeds the quality of the 2017 Grange (96 points).

"One of the five best vintages of St Henri of the last 70 years, according to Peter Gago (winemaker)
Meaty and luscious with juicy black fruit that has incredible purity. Full and furry with extraordinary length. Not as austere as it can be – absolutely open and gratifying, in fact." (RH)

18/20 points, Richard Hemming MW, jancisrobinson.com, September 2021