This is the second Shiraz of the famed Henschke outfit in Keyneton, Eden Valley, SA. Some of the oldest Shiraz vines in the world are planted in Australia; Henschke's premier site, the iconic Hill Of Grace vineyard, is around 140
years old, and the Mt Edelstone vineyard is about 90 years old. Upon opening, the extremely intense and pure fruit aromas exploded straight out of the bottle in a melange of blackcurrant, cassis and sweet black cherry, as well as some toasty oak and herbs. Equally intense dark berry fruit shows strongly on the mid-palate, along with some mint and eucalyptus, and vanilla oak on the long and complex finish, which gained more minty characteristics around 2 hours after opening. There is great structure to back up the intense fruit - high acidity and velvety tannins - which gives a wine of excellent depth and complexity. This is the most intensely fruity wine I have had in a long time, but the purity of the fruit means that it is in no way over-extracted, and the high levels of acidity keep the fruit and the oak nicely in balance. Still young, open for nearly 3 hours and still improving. A very good wine indeed, though not as refined as the Hill Of Grace. (04/10)
