Henschke Mount Edelstone Shiraz 2019
A$274.00
Vintages
Description
The beautiful and historic name Mount Edelstone is a translation from the German Edelstein meaning ‘gemstone’, a reference to small yellow opals once found in the area. The Mount Edelstone Vineyard was planted in 1912 by Ronald Angas, a descendant of George Fife Angas who founded The South Australian Company and played a significant part in the formation and establishment of South Australia. Unusual for its time, the vineyard was planted solely in Shiraz. The ancient 500-million-year-old geology in the vineyard has given rise to soils that are deep red-brown clay-loam to clay, resulting in low yields from the dry-grown, ungrafted centenarian vines. First bottled as a single-vineyard wine in 1952 by fourth-generation Cyril Henschke, by the time Cyril purchased the vineyard from Colin Angas in 1974, Mount Edelstone was already well entrenched as one of Australia’s greatest shiraz wines. Crafted by the Henschke family for over 60 years now, Mount Edelstone is arguably the longest consecutively-produced, single-vineyard wine in Australia.
A mild and dry winter, followed by a dry and windy spring, saw frost events in September and November that disrupted budburst and young shoot growth. A hailstorm in late November impacted the fresh young shoots carrying the crop, with shiraz the most affected. Warmer than average temperatures in January and February, including the hottest summer’s day on record, led to the advancement of maturity and early onset of vintage. Warm weather in late summer maintained low disease pressure and small berry size, providing optimal ripening conditions. Despite miniscule yields, 2019 was a high-quality vintage with beautiful expressions of varietal character, good structure and excellent flavour intensity. The 2019 vintage will be remembered as a challenging season where regenerative viticulture and organic and biodynamic practices were vital to nurturing the health of the Henschke vineyards through an exceptionally warm and dry year.
Matured in 20% new and 80% seasoned (80% French, 20% American) oak hogsheads for 18 months prior to blending and bottling.
Ratings
Score
19 points
Reviewer
Matthew Jukes
Review
This was a tiny harvest, showing the most remarkable herbal tones that sit aloft the fruit notes. Stephen Henschke talked of sage and pepper, and I found lavender, which is a rarity, as well as thyme and bergamot. This is a wonderfully composed and restrained wine with profound elegance and charm, and it seems remarkably rewarding at such a young age…I like the tension here, and with the haunting perfume and deliberate delivery of fruit, this will be a superb Mount Edelstone in time. Please be patient because while it seeks to impress now and certainly looks enchanting, there is a lot more to come when its shoulders drop and it acclimatises to its surroundings.
