Henschke Mount Edelstone, Eden Valley, Australia

翰斯科酒庄伊德斯顿山红葡萄酒

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The Mount Edelstone vineyard is in Eden Valley and is 16 hectares. It was planted in 1912 by Ronald Angas, classifying the ungrafted, dry-grown vines here as centenarian vines (according to the Barossa Old Vine Charter) at 106 years old. The soils consist of red-brown clay-loam. The 2018 Mount Edelstone Vineyard Shiraz is 100% Shiraz, matured in a combination of 27% new and 73% seasoned oak hogsheads (77% French, 23% American) for 20 months prior to blending and bottling. This is forever one of my favorite wines at Henschke—it speaks so clearly of my perception of Eden Valley. It is equally rocky/mineral/of the earth, as it is saturated in black and red fruits. The tannins are svelte and seamless. The gentle impact of the American oak is evident in the sweet bed of plump tannin and the slight gloss to the fruit. There is a grace and beauty to the palate, as usual. While Henschke rates this great 2018 vintage as being on par with the 2015 and 2016, they put it slightly behind 2012. You make up your own mind, however I am enamored by the wines I have tasted from 2018. Super wine. (14.5% alcohol, pH 3.4, total acidity of 6.47 grams per liter).

Hung deli meat, star anise and blackberry adorn the nose of the 2017 Mount Edelstone Vineyard Shiraz. Discerning this is akin to peering over the counter at an Italian deli, with meat, cheeses and garlic hanging from the ceiling: it's enveloping and welcome. On the palate, the wine is bright and concentrated, with layers of salted blueberry, licorice and staunch (yet fine) tannins. It has flexibility and pliability, but it also has shape and form—all of it encased in a medium-bodied shell. It is savory and lean above all else, with bacon fat adorning all edges.

The 2016 Mount Edelstone Vineyard Shiraz is steeped in complexity, with aromas ranging from camphor, bay leaf and sage to smoke and grilled beef and from blueberries and blackberries to plums laced with spice. Full-bodied, rich and intense, it's ripe and velvety textured, with a long, licorice-tinged finish and dusty tannins that bode well for the cellar. From vines planted in 1912, I suspect this will come close to the quality of the Hill of Grace at a fraction of the price. Tasted again the following day from the open bottle, this was even better, seamless, flowing and harmonious in the mouth.

Camphor, pitch and raspberry appear on the nose of Henschke's 2015 Mount Edelstone Vineyard Shiraz. It's a muscular, full-bodied expression of Eden Valley Shiraz, with notes of black olives and cassis on the palate and enough tannins to give this amply-endowed wine a savory edge. There's a lovely sense of tension between the fruity and savory elements and a long, velvety finish, making this one of the stars of the lineup—and a relative bargain compared to the Hill of Grace. The dry-farmed vineyard was planted in 1912 and has been bottled as a single-vineyard wine since 1952, making it one of the oldest such wines in Australia.