St. Henri Shiraz 2017 Penfolds

The St Henri point of difference is that it's aged in old, large wooden vats. Sourced from throughout South Australia, the 2017 St Henri Shiraz reveals no oak in its rather raw, unrefined notes of bloody beef, mixed berries, black olives and road tar. It's full-bodied and still tannic at this stage, with a bit of coarseness on the finish that hopefully time will soften. While not the best vintage for St Henri, it's a commendable effort that should age well.

This has a very impressive, intense nose with a cool and spicy edge, as well as aromas of red flowers and fresh raspberries, set amid some wild-herb tones. The palate has very expressive raspberry and cranberry flavors, delivered among fine, crunchy and lithe, juicy tannins. The palate has a deep, red-plum core that’s quite tautly contained and wrapped up neatly for some time to come. Try this from 2025.

Impressive for the purity of the blueberry, cherry and huckleberry flavors, with touches of Dutch cocoa, espresso and toasted herb. Wonderful, dense, toothsome tannins add to the sense of concentration, displaying balance on the finish. Drink now through 2025.

Saturated violet. Spice-accented cherry, cassis and licorice aromas show fine detail and a smoky mineral topnote emerges as the wine opens up. Vibrant blackberry and bitter cherry flavors are supported by a core of zesty acidity and become sweeter and deeper on the back half. Smoothly melds depth and vivacity and finishes juicy and extremely long, with mounting tannins and lingering dark fruit and licorice qualities.