Wednesday, April 11, 2012

An 18 year old Henschke

I am not talking about the next Henschke generation, but rather the 1994 Henschke Mount Edelstone Shiraz. I opened my last bottle, in fact my last bottle from the 90s, last night. This has been my favorite Mount Edelstone for some time, and this bottle did not disappoint.

The 1994 achieved only moderate acclaim when released, but what a wine it has become. The cork came out perfectly, and I was immediately engulfed by the bouquet of the deep, concentrated fruit. The flavours of rich blackberry fruit are incredibly pure. There is some mellowing in this wine, but not much. As the wine rolls down my palate, the image that comes up is of the swell building off the coasts of Tahiti, then rolling smoothly, but powerfully to the shore.

There is great harmony in this wine, firm, but very silky tannins, and an incredible length of finish. This will stay in my memory for a long time - almost perfect.

Score: 98/+++  

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