2005 Henschke, Mount Edelstone Vineyard, Eden Valley

The 2005 Mount Edelstone is a 100% Shiraz cuvee sourced from a vineyard planted in 1912. Yields are a meager 0.3 to 0.5 tons of fruit per acre. In combination with a near ideal growing season, this has resulted in a great edition of Mount Edelstone, one of South Australia’s iconic wines. Purple-colored, the nose gives up notes of mocha, chocolate, smoked meat, pepper, leather, blueberry, and blackberry. Elegant, already complex, layered, and thoroughly satisfying, this superb Shiraz has enough baby fat to be enjoyed now but will amply reward 5-7 years of cellaring. It will drink beautifully through 2025. Henschke, one of Australia’s oldest and most renowned wineries continues to perform at a high level. Importer: Negociants USA, Napa CA; tel. (707) 259-0993

At 20 years from vintage – when the dry-grown Shiraz vines in the Mount Edelstone vineyard were 'just' 94 years old – this 2005 is blooming, says Johann Henschke, the sixth-generation winemaker of his family's estate. It still showcases the trademark herbal character of this single site, alongside the concentrated fruit core, but is now slipping into a silkier, more savoury phase as the wine matures. Notes of smoked meat, sweet leather, mocha and those earthy, peppery spices join rich damsons and mulberries on the supple palate, with a balsamic cherry and menthol lift adding great freshness alongside the silky tannins.

From dry-grown, ungrafted, 90-year-old vines, the 2005 Henschke Shiraz Mt. Edelstone was matured in a combination of 90% new French and American oak hogsheads f0r 18 months. Sporting a ripe, upfront bouquet of cigar, sour herbs, and funky meats, with solid under riding raspberry and blackberry styled fruits, the wine is medium to full bodied on the palate and balanced, supple and smooth. It shows a mature, integrated profile, and is ready to go; it should continue to shine for another 4-6 years.

94-year-old dry-grown Shiraz vines. 90% new oak, 2/3 French and 1/3 US. Spicy plum, moving towards red fruit, but also damson and a touch of cough linctus. You can see it is warmer than in the Grampians. Retrofitted Scott Henry trellis to give better sun exposure. Wonderfully aromatic. A little bit of mint? Concentrated without being in the least overweight. Fresh and juicy on the long finish. (JH)