Penfolds St. Henri Shiraz 2021

Dark plum colour, intense with a kick of smoky oak. A wine that showcases the concentration and spice to an Australian Shiraz even without any new oak, puts the focus on aromatics, fragrant grilled cumin, rose petal, black olives, baked spice and grilled herbs. Just awesome – but don’t approach yet, this honestly could do with six or seven years to even rev up to the starting blocks. Tasted during the September Releases, and also at an incredible vertical held in Paris back in January that more than showed how St Henri can hold its own and improve for decades. Peter Gago chief winemaker.

I recently tasted a vertical of St Henri from 1958 through to this 2021, and just behind the 1962 and 2010, the 2021 was among the top five best St Henri's ever made. The 2021 St Henri Shiraz has succulence and balance, and it is fresh and unencumbered by heavy oak characters via the adherence to large-format, seasoned oak and the blessing of the season. The tannic density and weight of the wine comes from the fruit rather than the vessel, and this will hold it is great stead over the decades to come. This was sourced from Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale. 2021 was a lovely season in South Australia; the lead-in was wet from August onward, replenishing the arid ground from the past three vintages of drought. The season was long and warm but rarely, if ever, hot, with well-timed rain events that allowed producers, for the most part, to avoid viticultural pressure. Having explained this, I have found many of the reds from 2021 to be really quite ripe—it seems to me that many people had the opportunity to leave fruit on the vine, and many did. This feels to buck that trend. Excellent. 14.5% alcohol, sealed under natural cork.

Fragrant and exuberant, with a core of black cherry, wild strawberry, raspberry puree and blackberry notes that show accents of candy-coated fennel seed, fresh tarragon, cigar box and violet, backed by a hint of savory black olive tapenade and bittersweet chocolate. All of these complexities are set up on a dense, fleshy frame, with gripping tannins on the finish. Drink now through 2038. 358 cases imported.

Very dark purple. Some freshness on the relatively light nose. Dry finish and some balsamic notes. Very little sweet fruit here for the moment, though it’s likely to blossom in bottle. There’s a real sore-throat-healing undertow though…

Blackberries and dark chocolate with some toasted nuts, oak and graphite give this very enticing aromas that follow through to a medium body with a solid core of fruit and fine tannins that spread across the palate. Extremely well crafted overall and easy to drink young. Drink or hold.

Coined as Penfolds’ 'counterpoint to Grange’, St Henri has a more reigned-in character but still has all the density and richness you expect from this benchmark Australian Shiraz producer. It is opulent and luxurious in style, with warming notes of kirsch, coca cola and sweet spices, underpinned by a savoury smoked-meat character and lasting finish.

This is an enticing and downright charming vintage of St. Henri. A wine that, unlike many in the Penfolds portfolio, never sees new oak, the fruit is in the spotlight here, and shine it does, in a gentle, settled kind of way. Raspberry and blood plum are underpinned by soft herbs, milk chocolate and a hoisin-like tang. It's velvety and plush without feeling overly heavy or musclebound. Lovely now; will continue to be lovely for a great many more years.