For an Australian wine partnership as celebrated as Stephen and Prue Henschke, and the fantastic work they have put in and achieved great success in the Eden Valley since 1979, consistency of a very unique kind is required. They know who they are, and what philosophy they want to represent - that much remains sacred - and yet every season brings change; each vintage its own traps, challenges and circumstances hard to foresee. Of recent note were their efforts from the 2020 vintage, hindered greatly by the season’s tiny yields (with bushfires the primary culprit), leading to their decision in holding the single vineyard bottles back in order to be offered in several years time as museum releases. It’s those hard calls, and a commitment to only giving their buyers wines that will represent their name in the right way that can separate great winemakers from the truly special ones.
2021, with its single vineyard releases having just arrived in-store yesterday morning, was thankfully not only a bountiful harvest in terms of yields, but one of outstanding quality - possibly the best since 2002, if you ask the Henschke family themselves. Bringing Gwyn Olsen into the senior winemaker role in early 2023 (a former Gourmet Traveller Young Winemaker of the Year recipient, and rather excitingly, the host for our special Henschke masterclass in late May) has been excellent recruitment and, alongside Stephen and Prue's 46 years of experience on their land, has made for a winemaking trio to envy. The Wheelwright, the Cyril Henschke, the Mount Edelstone, and the Hill of Grace are here on the back of some the highest praise we've seen upon release for some time - look below for the impressive scores and links to the wines. You'll also find a very rare Hill of Grace double magnum available - one of only three produced - and to be signed by Gwyn on her visit to Brisbane!
Additionally, we'll have a whole row of Henschke's many estate bottles on pour this Saturday 10th from 12 to 2pm too, starting with crispy Eden Valley Riesling and Adelaide Hills Pinot Gris, before delving into Cabernet Sauvignon, a Grenache blend, Nebbiolo, the ever popular Keyneton Euphonium blend, and finishing with the Tappas Pass and Mount Edelstone Shiraz! We hope you can join us to celebrate this Aussie icon.
Henschke - 2021 Single Vineyard Releases
The Wheelwright Shiraz 2021 -
$160 per bottle
"This Shiraz is named in tribute to Johann Christian Henschke, a Silesian wheelwright and stonemason who planted the family’s first vineyards in the Eden Valley. Although it hails from a warm vineyard, planted in 1968, the palate is vivid and refreshing, packed with raspberry, blackberry and blueberry fruits, leavened by peppery spice, bright tamarind and an almost salty note. The tannins are rounded and plush, lending just enough grip. Very long and layered. Utterly delicious and amazingly approachable." - 96 Points, Natasha Hughes MW, Decanter
"Very deep, saturated colour with strong purple tints; there are intense sage and raspberry/mulberry aromas while the palate is wonderfully deep and plush with masses of fruit flavours and those dried herb nuances embrace oregano, thyme, sage and more. The wine is very full in the mouth with impressive concentration and a voluminous core of fruit sweetness allied to abundant tannins of a velvety suppleness. Gorgeous shiraz." - 96 Points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review
Cyril Henschke Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 -
$195 per bottle
"The 2021 Cyril Henschke cabernet is one of the best I’ve tasted. Deep, dark red with a faint tinge of purple and the bouquet has cedar/cigarbox, smoky creosote and underneath is a richness of sweet ripe blackberry cabernet fruit. Intense, focused, powerful and yet elegant, this is medium-full bodied and far from a blockbuster, but has concentrated cabernet flavour that draws out neatly in a really long aftertaste. A top-notch cabernet with years ahead of it." - 96 Points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review
"Hails from a block planted in the 1960s and the 1980s. The vineyard is planted east-west, with vertical shoot positioned trellising, and the straw mulch underneath the vines assists in bringing out the most expression possible. Fermentation involves very gentle cap management to withdraw gentle tannins from the wine. It matured for 18 months in French oak. The nose leads with violets and crushed rocks, dried herbs and ancient, dusty earth. The wine takes me to the ancient gums and rocky outcrops of the Eden valley, a place I am incredibly fond of. This is the loveliest Cyril Henschke Cabernet Sauvignon I can recall—sleek and evocative." - 95 Points, Erin Larkin, Robert Parker Wine Advocate
Mount Edelstone Shiraz 2021 -
$275 per bottle
(Also on Saturday tasting!)
"The 2021 Mount Edelstone Vineyard Shiraz was planted in 1912, with the first wine being produced in 1952 from 40-year-old vines. The success of the Mount Edelstone was the inspiration for the Hill of Grace to be produced from the 1958 vintage. The Mount Edelstone vineyard is planted at 400 meters in elevation and has an easterly aspect, capturing the morning sun and avoiding the hot afternoon sun. The wine is velvety and layered with raw cocoa tannins, black pepper, Sichuan pepper, raspberry and blood plum. This has all the concentration and intensity that we know and love of Mount Edelstone; it speaks clearly to Eden Valley as a place, with notes of sage, bay, crushed rocks and a cool minerality that drives it through the long finish. This is a superb wine." - 97 Points, Erin Larkin, Robert Parker Wine Advocate
"Deep colour with a good tint of purple in the rim; there are raspberry and mulberry aromas coupled with sage and dried thyme herbal notes, the palate full bodied and firm with ample tannins and a note of oak char. The tannins are ample and well-married to the flavour and structure of the wine. Good length and balanced throughout. A superb shiraz, more peppery with airing: a stellar vintage for this wine." - 97 Points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review
Hill of Grace Shiraz 2021 -
$1,000 per bottle
(One magnum available for $2,540 +
a very rare double magnum - one of only three made - available for $5,685)
"It’s impossible not to fall under the spell of its bewitching fragrance, its immense power and concentration allied with seemingly contradictory elegance and refinement. The wine is full-bodied and flows evenly across the tongue, with an effortless intensity and suppleness of texture. Fine tannins are an important part of the very long, high-impact aftertaste. It’s sacrilege to open this wine until it’s at least a decade old, by which time it will inhabit another world, but the ingredients are there for it to be transcendent in time—truly one of the best vintages of this legendary wine." - 99 Points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review
"The Hill of Grace comes from a vineyard that sits at 400 meters above sea level—a beautiful, remote-feeling place. The vineyard is picked block by block, defined by vine age, soil types, elevation and position within the vineyard - the ancestor vines are over 150 years old. It is pure and fine, with a languid pool of fruit that is characterized by black silty tannins and persistent, seamless length. This speaks of the ancient place, the rocks, the vines. This is just a magnificent, graceful wine here, one that is "immune to hyperbole," as they say." - 98 Points, Erin Larkin, Robert Parker Wine Advocate
"At the moment the wine is tightly coiled, but time in the glass allows it to open up and reveal layers that hint at its potential for mature splendour. The list of fruit characters is long – there’s red plum, cedarwood, bitter cocoa, Szechuan peppercorns, blood oranges and garrigue – but as soon as you list one flavour you’re struck by a completely different note. There’s nothing shouty about this wine, just subtle waves of flavour that roll over the palate, effortless balance and a finish that stretches towards infinity. Yes, it’s expensive, but it comes pretty darn close to perfection." - 98 Points, Natasha Hughes MW, Decanter
Henschke Tasting Lineup
Saturday 10th May (12 to 2pm)
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Peggy's Hill Riesling 2024 -
$23 on special ($26 RRP)
"Pale in the glass with a flash of green and unctuous aromas of freshly squeezed lime juice, Christmas lilies, Bickford's lime cordial, green apple sorbet, crushed stone, bath salts, orange blossom and stone. Crisp, dry and sporting a sizzling mineral line, I have to keep repeating to myself not to mention the riesling and value thing as it shines with use, but I mean really. This is a ripper." - 93 Points, Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion
Innes Vineyard Pinot Gris 2024 -
$30 on special ($35 RRP)
"Excellent intensity of fruit here. Quality is announced from the outset. Pear, apple and chalk characters, a touch of florals, a tonic aspect. This Pinot Gris is straight, clean, well-flavoured and attractive from start to finish." - 93 Points, Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front
The Rose Grower Nebbiolo 2021 -
$43 on special ($49 RRP)
"Light cherry red colour. Subtle nose of red cherry, crushed rose petal and sage aromas. Medium in fruit weight but a very intense and focused palate. Cherry fruit is wrapped with dried herbs and crushed flower petals as it is driven by both fine acidity and powdery tannins to a very long finish. Very well integrated now and will benefit from being served with a meal." - 92 Points, Stuart Knox, The Real Review
Keyneton Euphonum Shiraz Cabernet Merlot 2021 -
$54 on special ($62 RRP)
"Deep, dark and impenetrably opaque in the glass. Brooding aromas of mulberry, satsuma plum, anise, bramble, spice and graphite. Full, rich, fleshy and quite primary and plush in flavour. Lashings of black fruits, sweet spice, choc-mint and a briary earthiness. The tannins are textured, firm and shapely and there’s plenty of lively acidity ensuring the decadent fruit behaves itself." - 95 Points, Aaron Brasher, The Real Review
Johann's Garden Grenache Mataro 2023 -
$57 on special ($65 RRP)
// 80% Grenache and 20% Mataro
"Vibrant and youthfully red in the glass. Pretty and complex aromas of dried flowers, blueberry, raspberry, anise, Asian spice and pot-pourri. Mid-weight, fleshy and mouth-filling, with a core of bright blue fruits and spice. The tannins are firm and shapely and the acidity has plenty of life and kick." - 92 Points, Aaron Brasher, The Real Review
Marble Angel Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 -
$70 on special ($79 RRP)
"Cabernet when it’s at its best brings power, structure and length but most importantly, it also brings flow. It makes the wine seem relaxed and enjoyable, even as it lays down the law. This Cabernet Sauvignon from Henschke mines that vein. It has a juicy, even-handed flow to it, it brings blackcurrant, peppercorn, tobacco and mint flavours to the table, and it makes its long finish seem effortless. In shot, we’re in elite territory here." - 95 Points, Campbell Mattinson
Tappa Pass Shiraz 2022 -
$109 on special ($125 RRP)
"It’s a wine that, over the years, has never lacked flavour, though it’s added finesse to its armoury, as this wine shows. Indeed this release ramps up the complexity too. It tastes of twigs, herbs, ripe plums and redcurrant, with mint, black olive and woodsy spice notes woven throughout. There’s a firmness to this wine, and plenty of fruit, though there’s also more than a passing nod to savouriness. As a result it feels complete." - 94 Points, Campbell Mattinson
+ the new 2021 Mount Edelstone (info and reviews above)
If you wish to place your order for the single vineyard releases, or buy any of the wines on tasting, please use the links above
Alternatively, email us at sales@thewineemporium.com.au, or contact us on (07)32521117 if you have any questions.
// Prices valid until Friday 16th of May