2015 Henschke, Mount Edelstone Vineyard, Eden Valley

Camphor, pitch and raspberry appear on the nose of Henschke's 2015 Mount Edelstone Vineyard Shiraz. It's a muscular, full-bodied expression of Eden Valley Shiraz, with notes of black olives and cassis on the palate and enough tannins to give this amply-endowed wine a savory edge. There's a lovely sense of tension between the fruity and savory elements and a long, velvety finish, making this one of the stars of the lineup—and a relative bargain compared to the Hill of Grace. The dry-farmed vineyard was planted in 1912 and has been bottled as a single-vineyard wine since 1952, making it one of the oldest such wines in Australia.

100% Syrah/Shiraz. Dark ruby. Really beautiful composition of a wine that combines ripeness with freshness. Dry finish and long. Very long! A beauty. Lightly saline and lots of something mineral. (JR)

100% Shiraz from 103-year-old vines. Aged for 18 months in 78% French and 22% American (22% new) oak hogsheads. Described as ‘overgrown Pinot’ by Stephen Henschke. Incredibly intense! It’s a really marked shift up from their Tappa Pass 2016 just tasted. There’s a pungent herbal edge to the nose, as well as plenty of sweet vanilla oak – but the main headline is that beautifully juicy black fruit, which has both freshness and a more boiled, pastille-like quality. Layers of flavour and texture, but already totally drinkable in terms of structure. Long, tarry, peppery finish. (RH)