Sweeter aromas, still with that distinctive nutmeg spiciness. Some mixed berry jam aromas. Palate again firmly tannic and tight; very grippy; tight and sturdy, like a good Barossa Deutsch citizen. Best in 3 to 30+ years

"Medium-deep crimson. Intense dark chocolate, mocha, blackberry and liquorice aromas with roasted walnut notes. Richly concentrated and supple with smooth blackberry and dark chocolate flavours, fine velvety tannins, some roasted chestnut and panforte. Finishes chalky firm, long and sweet. A very good year for St Henri, it could end up like the 1971 (one of the great St Henri vintages of all time). Peak drinking now to 2050."  Penfolds Rewards of Patience tasting panel 2021 - 5/5 rating

"Developed in the 1950s by winemaker John Davoren because he didn't like Max Schubert's Grange, the 2004 is a superb version of this classic Penfolds wine. Made from 96% shiraz and 4% cabernet sauvignon sourced from vineyards in the Barossa Valley, Langhorne Creek and Adelaide Hills, it was matured in old, large (2,000 litre) oak vats. This deeply coloured wine has a core of intense, dark plum fruit together with aromas of spiced fruitcake mix, licorice and a hint of cigar box. Equally complex and intense on the palate and managing to be both powerful and restrained, this should provide great drinking pleasure over the next 10 to 20 years, if not longer."  Philip Rich, Australian Financial Review, Top 20 Wines of 2008

"I'd suggest buying magnums of this wine; one bottle is clearly not enough in one sitting. We tasted this over a couple of days and the last glass evoked a little tear in the eye and the sound of cash registers ringing in my ears. Ouch but it's Awesome. This offered a remarkable array of smells and flavours over several days with Brazil nuts, flowers, cocoa, blackberry, plum, roast lamb and mint being the big ticket items on its glorious olfactory shopping list. It does have some oak showing on the nose but it's well into the background. In the mouth medium to full bodied with powerful cherry and berry fruit and a violet mouth perfume combining with more savoury roast meat flavours. It's fresh and smooth with strong ripe tannins that melted down into an almost creamy mouth filling texture with extended breathing. Enormous length of flavour. It's destined to become one of the greats. Drink : 2020 - 2030+."  Gary Walsh, Winorama – 96+ points

"Deeply fragrant with an alluring, floral and ethereal scent of blackberry liqueur, plums, dark cherries and musky spices with minty undertones of restrained oak and sweet leather, this is an elegant, fine-grained and richly flavoured example of the Australian 'burgund' style, even though its label once contained the word 'claret'. It's long and brooding, with its restrained expression of pure, pristine fruit overlying a chalky backbone of kernelly tannin. Certain to flesh out magnificently. Drink 2024-2034."  Jeremy Oliver - 96 points

"In a word: perfumed. It washes up through your mouth in a blaze of musk and violets, its pure sweet fruitiness silken and lingering. This is gorgeously pure, and should cellar magnificently. I tasted this over a couple of days and it got better and better. If you like the St Henri style of shiraz, you cannot go wrong here. Drink: 2017-2035."  Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front - 96 points

"Luxuriant fruit, decadently so, generously spice filled along with a creaminess from the aromas. Harmonious and blended well, this is smooth well rounded velvety and delicious. It lingers fine tannins, long and with delicious plum and blackberry fruits on the finish. A really stylish red. Try it with rump steak, aged and grilled. Drink to 2024."  Paul Ippolito - 96 points  (95-97: Superb – A memorable drinking experience) 

------

2012 - 98/100 Review by Huon Hooke $300.00

"Medium-deep crimson. Intense blackberry, dark plum, mulberry and brambly liquorice aromas. Plush and richly flavoured with ripe blackberry, mulberry, dark chocolate and liquorice flavours, roasted walnut notes and fine plentiful chalky/muscular tannins. A chocolaty grippy firm finish. Plenty of torque in this wine. Peak drinking 2023 to 2045."  Penfolds Rewards of Patience tasting panel 2021 - 5/5 rating

"A highly-anticipated wine from vintage 2012, this doesn't disappoint. Just 3% cabernet, quite tightly-knit red fruit, blackberry, dried red currants, goji berries and a subtle undertone of earthiness. The palate has an entirely different texture to the other reds, it is all silk, tannins are polished to a bright, lustrous texture, slippery, even, deceptively powerful, plush, pure and long. Finishes bright and expansive, this is one of the great St. Henri releases! You can drink it now, but those who wait until after 2020 will be happiest."  James Suckling, Jamessuckling.com - 98 points

"Very dense Shiraz with an 'old vine' texture. Layers of dark berry, plum, prune, Christmas cake, spice, anise, dark chocolate, leather, a suggestion of wood smoke and much, much more. Very lengthy palate - a powerful wine that is remarkably drinkable now, with fine ripe tannins smothered by sweet fruit. Will age very well indeed. Drink: 2016-2032."  Bob Campbell MW, The Real Review - 98 points

"St Henri was the same price as Grange when the two were first released in the 1950s. 2010 St Henri declared that this label is still deserving of greater respect than it is afforded, and 2012 confirms that this was no one-off. The mild summer, dry autumn and even development of small berries and bunches produced beautifully pure and distinguished fruit that plays perfectly to the St Henri style. The graceful, supple blue fruits of classic St Henri are on parade in a wine of effortless, refined persistence. Nuances of liquorice and dark chocolate are supported by definitive St Henri fruit tannins, seamlessly presented, with a silky, supple mouth feel and yet somehow still firm and enduring. A great St Henri of effortless longevity, following in the legacy of 2010 and promising a thrilling future. Drink: 2027-2047."  Tyson Stelzer, Wine Taste - 97 points

"The 2012 Shiraz St Henri is very impressive with its elegant, sophisticated and well-crafted expression of this superb vintage. As always, there is no new oak employed here, simply 50+ year old large oak vats. This vintage has a dollop (3%) Cabernet Sauvignon, contributing a lovely cassis lift to the heady perfume. Deep garnet-purple colored, it displays a gorgeous nose of commendable purity and intensity with notes of red and blackcurrants, freshly crushed blackberries, menthol, cinnamon stick, bacon fat and cloves. Rich and already expressive on the palate, it is nonetheless built for the long haul with firm, ripe and grainy tannins carrying the fruit to a long and layered finish. This should be a long-lived St Henri that should cellar gracefully for at least 2 decades. Drink: 2016-2035; Date Tasted: Sept 2015."  Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate – 96+ points

"Deep-ish red colour with vestiges of purple. The bouquet is distinctive and very complex, showing earthy, sousbois, leather, 'forest floor' nuances. The flavours are tremendously seductive, enticingly meaty/charcuterie-like, licoricey and multi-faceted; the tannins soft and sexy. The wine oozes drinkability. Just delicious! Drink: 2015-2040."  Huon Hooke, The Real Review - 96 points

"In the manner of all St Henris, matured for 13 months in 50yo oak vats (1460l). This is an exercise on a chequer board of savoury/smoky black fruits with firm, but polished, tannins. A great St Henri that will come into its own in a bare minimum of 10 years, and live long thereafter. Drink by: 2047."  James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion - 96 points

"Lovely, supple dark plum, inky, Chinotto, panforte flavours and fine, plentiful lacy textures. Classic St Henri. Easy to drink now, but it has the balance and density to develop for many years."  Andrew Caillard MW - 96 points

"Forest berries, dark chocolate, vanilla perfume, earthy almost Autumnal scents, liquorice, new leather, crushed spices, violets: it does not lack complexity. Medium to full bodied, carries a minor amount of alcohol warmth, but the smooth silky milk chocolate tannin, the carriage of pure South Australia Shiraz flavour, the glow and gloss of it, carries the wine forward in the most charming manner. Raspberries! They're here, which I always want to find in St Henri. For my tastes, at least, it's a better wine than the 2010. It will age for as long as you want to keep it.. 2015-2040+."  Gary Walsh, The Wine Front - 96 points