Henschke Keyneton Euphonium Shiraz Blend 2021 (Gift Box)

The 2021 Keyneton Euphonium is a blend of shiraz, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and merlot. The Shiraz comes from vines, up to 50 years in age, from both the Barossa and Eden Valleys, while the remaining grapes are also a mix of both regions. The wine is named after pastoralist Joseph Keynes who settled at Keyneton in 1842 and after whom the village was named. Keyneton became a musical focus for early settlers such as the Henschke Family Brass Band, which featured wonderful wind instruments such as the B flat euphonium, a large brass wind instrument made in Germany in the late 19th century.

"This was such a brilliant vintage in the Barossa. Loaded with rich dark and dense fruit delivered with a certain panache and poise. It’s multi-layered with dark chocolate and dusty fruit working with chalky tannins and super fine-grained oak. Retains its brightness and energy through to a very long finish."  Ray Jordan

"63% shiraz, 29% cabernet sauvignon, 5% cabernet franc and 3% merlot grapes grown in the Barossa (Eden Valley and Barossa Valley regions). Dark crimson with bright ruby hues. Fragrant aromas of blackberry, raspberry, plum, rhubarb and cassis are entwined with hints of sage, cooking spice, black pepper, anise and violets. An elegant palate opens with fresh cut plum and mulberry, leading into blackberry, bramble, cassis and bay leaf, balanced by bright acidity and an exceptionally long, fine tannin finish. One of the all-time great vintages of this wine. Matured in a mixture of 82% French and 18% American oak consisting of 11% new French oak puncheons and 89% seasoned French and American oak hogsheads for a period of 18 months. Exceptional vintage, Drink: 25+ years."  Henschke

Expert reviews

"Pure dark cherry, marzipan aromas with aniseed, herb garden notes. Minerally and loose knit in structure with pure cherry, blackberry pastille fruits, fine chalky/graphite textures, lovely mid-palate volume and fresh quartz acidity. Supple lacy finish with vanilla marzipan notes. The soupcon of new oak gives an extra level of complexity. Really delicious and satisfying wine."  Andrew Caillard MW, The Vintage Journal - 96 points

"This was such a brilliant vintage in the Barossa. This is a blend of 63% Shiraz, 29% Cabernet and smaller Cabernet Franc and Merlot inclusions. Loaded with rich dark and dense fruit delivered with a certain panache and poise. It’s multi-layered with dark chocolate and dusty fruit working with chalky tannins and super fine-grained oak. Retains its brightness and energy through to a very long finish. Drink: 2024-044."  Ray Jordan, Wine Pilot – 95 points

"Deep, dark and impenetrably opaque in the glass. Brooding aromas of mulberry, satsuma plum, anise, bramble, spice and graphite. Full, rich, fleshy and quite primary and plush in flavour. Lashings of black fruits, sweet spice, choc-mint and a briary earthiness. The tannins are textured, firm and shapely and there’s plenty of lively acidity ensuring the decadent fruit behaves itself. Drink: 2024–2036."  Aaron Brasher, The Real Review - 95 points 

"A seamless blend of shiraz, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and merlot; each variety laying down their individual characteristics for the good of the great whole. There is excellent length of flavour here, with plummy merlot flesh, spice, sage and density from the shiraz, gently flecked blackberry tones from the cabernet and the liminal leafy edge of the franc. A bright, minerally cadence and long, black-fruited finish wrap things up from this very strong vintage. Drink by 2035."  Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion - 94 points

"The 2021 vintage was rated as 'exceptional' by the Henschke family and, I might add, by quite a number of their Barossa Valley colleagues. The result is a tightly formed young wine that requires a few swishes in the glass to release some of the dark fruit, savoury earthiness and oak that lies in wait. The blend of Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot brings plenty of structure as well as flavour. It is destined to see some extended time in bottle. Dusty, smoky, woodsy, earthy, it offers a long walk through the woods releasing dark blackberry, black olive, bramble, cassis, leather with a touch of cured meats within a taut, tannin frame. You’ve got to love the very personal nature of the names chosen by the Henschke family for their wines. The Euphonium was a treasured musical instrument favoured by members of the Henschke Family Brass Band founded in 1888. Drink: 2024-2040."  Jeni Port, Wine Pilot – 93 points

Stephen & Prue

Winemaker Stephen Henschke, fifth-generation family member and youngest son of Cyril Henschke, showed great interest in science and winemaking at an early age. With a wonderful family heritage of more than 140 years of grape growing and winemaking spanning five generations, this came as no surprise. He is proud that the Henschke name and reputation is inexorably linked with red wines in general and Hill of Grace in particular, but with winemaking in his lifeblood, he approaches all wine styles with the same depth of passion and commitment to quality.

Stephen has retained the traditional approach to red winemaking used by his forebears. They handled the wines gently, used minimal racking, low sulphur, and gentle fining and filtration. They took a puristic, holistic approach that had been passed down from generation to generation so his winemaking techniques are almost intuitive.  He keeps intervention to a minimum, favouring gentle extraction of his reds so as to retain freshness and subtlety, and applies Old World techniques to his New World white grapes for elegance and texture. At the '50 Years of Hill of Grace' celebration in 2008 when Stephen tasted every vintage – some for the first time – he was struck by how closely he was emulating his father's winemaking of the late 1950s and the 60s with his minimal intervention techniques.

Stephen is also mindful of his European roots and is a proud supporter of the historical language, food, religion and wine culture of his Silesian forebears still alive in pockets in the Barossa.

Stephen's support and contribution to the Barossa was acknowledged in 1984 when he was inducted into the Barons of Barossa wine fraternity, of which his father Cyril was a founding member.

Viticulturist, botanist and environmentalist Prue Henschke  manages their 105 hectares of vineyards in the Eden Valley and Adelaide Hills. With today's advanced viticultural practices the greatest focus at Henschke is given to the quality of fruit in the vineyard. The increase in quality of both the red and white wines, which has helped take this iconic wine brand to the next level, is largely attributed to the increase in fruit quality.

Although Prue didn't set out to work in the wine business, she has become a key figure in the evolution of Australian viticulture and wine. She has a commitment to restoring balance to the natural environment, minimising harmful impacts and to regenerating the Henschke vineyard ecosystems. This has seen her win numerous local and international awards.

Prue became part of the Henschke world when she married Stephen, a fifth-generation Henschke. And for over 30 years, she has been a true pioneer. Her influence in the vineyards has been a balancing act of respecting tradition and protecting history while making bold decisions to innovate and improve. She restructured the vineyards, introduced new trellis types and transformed soil management using composts and mulches, which has led to adoption of organic and biodynamic practices.

How has Prue managed to blaze new trails among precious, historic vineyards. It all comes down to science. Science is the link between the vines and the quality of the wines that come from it. And it's how Prue's world collided with the Henschke dynasty. Her early interest in science led her to study botany and zoology at Adelaide University in the early 1970s. There she met Stephen, a fellow science student. After graduating, the pair headed to Germany for two years, where Prue became involved in viticulture and plant physiology. She worked at the Geisenheim Institute Vineyards and volunteered on a project in the Botanic Institute at Geisenheim – an experience that sparked a lifelong passion and set her on the path to becoming a leading viticulturist.

After returning to Australia and studying Wine Science alongside Stephen, Prue gained more experience in viticultural research, before becoming a viticultural consultant. In 1980 she started working with Stephen, who had taken over as winemaker at Henschke. They bought an apple orchard in the Adelaide Hills, near where the very first Henschke vineyard had been planted in 1862, and converted it to a vineyard, creating a 'living research station' where they experimented and tested theories on cool-climate viticulture. This revolutionary research became vital in growing and improving cool-climate wine production in Australia.

In 1987, Prue took on her current role at Henschke. She not only manages over 100 hectares of vineyards but is custodian of precious old vines, some of which have been in the earth since the first days of the family estate.

Prue represents the pinnacle of viticulture in Australia. Her influence has reached cool-climate vineyards across the country, and in 2016 she was named Viticulturist of the Year at the Australian Women in Wine Awards. She is a highly respected voice in the Australian wine community and a strong campaigner for environmental issues. Prue is passionate about protecting the natural environment while growing grapes good enough to create Australia's best wine. And Henschke wines have never been better.

Reference material taken from: https://www.australianwine.com/en-AU/our-makers/prue-henschke

About the winery

Henschke is the best medium-sized red wine producer in Australia and is recognised as one of the world's great wine labels. It is home to Australia's most famous vineyard, the majestic Hill of Grace, which produces Australia's greatest single vineyard wine. Outstanding Shiraz, cabernet sauvignon and Rieslings are produced by the fifth and sixth generations of winemakers, with a focus on single-site expressions that tell the story of the land and the people that made them.

The Henschke family has been making wine since Johann Christian Henschke planted a small vineyard on his farming property at Keyneton in 1862. He was one of many Silesians who had fled their homeland in search of religious freedom. Johann Christian built a small two-storey cellar into the side of the hill and the first vintages of riesling and shiraz were released in 1868.

Each generation has built upon the foundations of Henschke. In more recent times, fourth-generation Cyril Henschke pioneered varietal and single-vineyard wines at a time when blended wines and fortifieds were in vogue. His greatest legacy was the creation of Hill of Grace and Mount Edelstone in the 1950s, single-vineyard shiraz wines from Eden Valley that have captured the red wine world's imagination.

Today, it is fifth-generation winemaker Stephen Henschke and his viticulturist wife Prue at the helm, passionately upholding the family name and reputation. This highly regarded team has won a multitude of awards that recognise the complementary nature of their roles and Henschke has gone from strength to strength over the past three decades under their guidance.

"Prue and I are the current 'keepers of the flame'. Just as earlier generations have done, we want to manage the vineyards and winery so they can be passed on to the next generation in better condition than we inherited them. The last 50 years have been an incredible journey for the Australian wine industry. Hill of Grace and Mount Edelstone are arguably the two oldest single vineyard wines produced in this country that tell the wine story of Australia. Our vision would not be complete without the expectation that future generations will uphold and perpetuate our belief that such ancient and unique single-vineyard sites can produce exceptional wines that are prized for their beauty and rarity."  

In recent years Stephen and Prue have welcomed next-generation family members into the business. Their son, Johann, has carried on the family winemaking tradition in his capacity as winemaker and viticulturist since 2013, as the fifth and sixth-generations transition through the period of the transfer of knowledge, skills, and traditions.

With many of the challenges for the next generation already well-documented, Johann expects that innovation and careful strategic planning will be crucial tools for him and his peers to utilise. Above all, continuing on the traditional winemaking techniques which the Henschke family have used for generations, and ensuring that Henschke continues to be nurtured in the same prudent way that it has always been, will allow it to be passed on to successive generations and to be held in the same high regard as it is today.

 Henschke Vineyard Map