Penfolds St Henri Shiraz 2018

James Suckling Top 100 Wines of the World 2021
James Suckling Top 100 Wines of Australia 2021

St Henri is a time-honoured and alternative expression of Shiraz, and an intriguing counterpoint to Grange. It is unusual among high quality Australian red wines as it does not rely on any new oak. Released for the first time by Penfolds in the early 1950s (first commercial vintage 1957), it gained a new lease of life in the 1990s as its quality and distinctive style became better understood. Proudly, a wine style that hasn't succumbed to the dictates of fashion or commerce. St Henri is rich and plush when young, gaining soft, earthy, mocha-like characters as it ages. It is matured in old, 1,460 litre vats that allow the wine to develop, imparting minimal, if any oak character. Although a small proportion of Cabernet is sometimes used to improve structure, the focal point for St Henri remains Shiraz. 

"2018 marks a particularly special release. Accomplished, spicy, glossy black fruits of grand integrity unfold to magnificent effect in the glass. I look forward to spectating from the sidelines as its fruit slowly unfurls over the decades to come. An adorable St Henri that exemplifies all that this label stands for."  Tyson Stelzer

"The abiding character of St Henri is its longevity, particularly in the context of better vintages. It has none of the make-up of new American oak that can hide the imperfections of a lesser vintage. A great St Henri will come into its own in a bare minimum of 10 years, and live long thereafter."  James Halliday 

The 2018 Penfolds St Henri is 100% shiraz from premium vineyards in the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Port Lincoln, Robe, Padthaway, Clare Valley and Adelaide Hills. It was aged for 12 months in 50+ y.o. large oak vats.

"Deep inky blood-red. Warmed black olive, mustardy spiced wild rocket, and haloumi aromas. Toasted pumpkin seed flavours, and mouth-watering, finely etched tannins. Drinking well, but will improve with time. Peak drinking now to 2055."  Penfolds

Expert reviews

"The wine of the entire release. An extraordinarily good St Henri and I could not encourage winelovers to fill their cellars with this wine more strongly which will comfortably sit with 2010 and 2012. I have no doubt that in years to come, it will be considered as one of the greatest St Henri's ever made. It really is that good. Colour is black and purple. The aromas kick off with cloves and black olives. Dark chocolate, mulberries, cassis, leather, hints of tobacco leaves, truffles, beefstock and blackberries. Power and concentration. What is not to love? Right on form. Complex, balanced, very long and generous. Abundant silky tannins. This is perfectly structured. Balance is the key. The balance allows the wine to exhibit Audrey Hepburn elegance and Arnie Schwarzenegger power. This has decades ahead. A great St Henri."  Ken Gargett, Wine Pilot - 99 points

"Deep crimson. A beautiful St Henri vintage. Gorgeously seductive blackberry, mulberry, dark cherry, sweet plum aromas with dark chocolate, graphite, roasted walnut notes. Inky and sinuous palate with plentiful ripe blackberry, mulberry fruits, fine looseknit chalky tannins, superb mid-palate viscosity and underlying chinotto, roasted walnut notes. A standout vintage with superb middle-weight stature, fruit complexity and mineral length. Lovely to drink now but wait a few years to allow further development. Drink 2025 – 2040."  Andrew Caillard MW - 99 points

"A great St. Henri and, although multi-regional, this is very much a wine that speaks of the Barossa Valley, with aromas of ripe blackberries and red plums that are so fresh, together with tobacco, young-leather, earth, chocolate, coal-smoke and tarry accents. Effortless depth on the palate with summer berries, framed in fine, alabaster-like tannins that are underscored with discreet power. So long and captivating. A blend of Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Port Lincoln, Robe, Padthaway, Clare Valley and Adelaide Hills. Drink over the next decade or more."  Nick Stock, JamesSuckling.com – 99 points and Top 100 Wines of the World 2021 and Top 100 Wines of Australia 2021 

"This is a wonderful example of St Henri and a powerful endorsement for ageing rich, powerful syrah in large, neutral casks to swing the spotlight firmly onto the wine's wonderful array of fruit, chocolate-mocha and savoury flavours without the distraction of oak. It envelopes the senses and promises to develop wonderfully with bottle age. Drink: 2021–2055."  Bob Campbell MW, The Real Review - 98 points

"Deep, bright purple/red colour, young for its age, and leaves a residue in the swirled glass. The bouquet is very rich and multi-layered, sweetly fruit-ripe and balancing spicy, earthy-terrestrial and dark-fruit characters superbly. The palate is very full-bodied, but softly plush and lushly fruited, the sooty and graphitey tannins leaving a long-lingering savoury impression. A lasting impression of great elegance. The tannins are fine, abundant and persistent, in harmony with the totality. A very complex and high-potential St Henri. Drink: 2021–2046."  Huon Hooke, The Real Review - 97 points

"The effortless, unassuming self-assuredness of St Henri holds a unique and beloved place in the assemblage of Penfolds heroes, and 2018 marks a particularly special release. Accomplished, spicy, glossy black fruits of grand integrity unfold to magnificent effect in the glass, contrasting a fine-boned frame of rigid yet graceful, powder-fine tannins that carry a finish of long-lingering line and alluring appeal. I look forward to spectating from the sidelines as its fruit slowly unfurls over the decades to come. An adorable St Henri that exemplifies all that this label stands for."  Tyson Stelzer, Halliday Wine Companion - 97 points and Special Value Wine  ★

"Elegant, classy, modern, plump… yes yes and yes. I always love this wine, and this perfectly al dente vintage is the perfect lens through which to view this glorious wine. Restraint, length of flavour and spice. Red liquorice, David Austin roses (there's a tautness here… rose prick), Sarawak pepper, Szechuan, pomegranate… I could go on… suffice to say. This is a sexy little number…. Gorgeous."  Erin Larkin, erinlarkin.com.au – 97 points

"The 2018 St Henri Shiraz is a terrific effort, perhaps rivaling the top-flight wines under this label in 1976 and 1986. Remarkably fine and silky in texture yet simultaneously dense and concentrated, it showcases the amazing fruit harvested in 2018. Boysenberry, mulberry and mocha shadings all swirl together effortlessly in a whorl of full-bodied elegance, finishing long and effortless."  Joe Czerwinski, Wine Advocate - 97 points

"St. Henri is always welcoming, a warm and familiar flavour that resonates almost without fail. There's a soft generosity to the 2018, no doubt due to a warm-hot summer across the seven South Australian regions that contribute fruit to the blend. Black cherries and berries, spiced stewed plums, licorice, turned earth. Has an old Australian dry red feel to it that's mighty attractive, a reminder when reds were aged in old oak, in this case we're talking 12 months in 50-year-old oak vats. It's a slow-paced wine, of violet, aniseed, prune, leather and earth. Savouriness builds, tannins come to the fore as the wine moves across the tongue towards a long finish. So, so easy to enjoy right now. Cellar if you can."  Jeni Port, Wine Pilot – 96 points

"It's a fruit-filled St Henri. It's immediately impressive, which isn't exactly the St Henri way, but no one's complaining. Cocoa, coffee grounds, rich sweet plums, soy and sweet, aged meat. Licorice straps too, black, fresh and laid on. This is the kind of St Henri that you can drink young, it doesn't need it's normal ten-year rule, and yet it's future will be brilliant. This is a St Henri to buy. Drink : 2024 - 2040+."  Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front - 95+ points

Awards

Top 100 Wines of the World 2021 - James Suckling
Top 100 Wines of Australia 2021 - James Suckling
Special Value Wine - Halliday Wine Companion  ★

About st henri

The first vintage of St Henri – then Auldana Cellars St Henri Claret – was produced in 1888, beginning one of the most famous and enduring names in Australian wine. It was likely named after Auldana's winemaker Léon Edmond Mazure's son Henri or his wife, Philomine Henriette. The wine immediately enjoyed success, winning the Championship Cup for Best Claret in Australia at the Adelaide Wine Show in 1890 and then again as a joint winner in 1891. The St Henri label disappeared somewhere around the beginning of World War 1, probably because of reduced export sales. It was revived by Senior Red Winemaker John Davoren at Penfolds in 1953 to celebrate the centenary of Auldana Cellars (established by Patrick Auld in 1853) but the wine was not widely released. The 1953 release was made from Auldana and Paracombe fruit and the label design was based on original St Henri labels found in a loft at Auldana Cellars shortly after its sale to Penfolds in 1947.

According to retired Penfolds Senior Winemaker John Bird, the first vintages of St Henri were cabernet sauvignon and mataro blends. The fruit was foot stomped in open-ended hogsheads during vinification. After fermentation, the wine was matured in oak vats rather than hogsheads for around 18 months. John Davoren's aim was to make a wine in the traditional Claret style, accentuating fruit and maturation characters, rather than oak complexity. In this way the winemaking style differs to Grange, as it relies on larger seasoned oak vessels without any barrel fermentation. The 1957 vintage is officially recognised as the first St Henri commercial release under the Penfolds name. Nonetheless, John Davoren describes all of the 1950s vintages as “trials”. These experimental wines from 1953 to 1959 mark an important step forward for winemaking in Australia. Not only does St Henri honour the late 19th-century aspirations of Auldana's proprietor Sir Josiah Symon and winemaker Léon Edmond Mazure, but without the professional rivalry between Max Schubert and John Davoren, the Grange story would not have the same richness or romance. Initially St Henri achieved greater commercial success than Grange, although both were offered to the public as Claret styles. St Henri was a more elegant, approachable and familiar style because it reflected traditional winemaking techniques, whereas the revolutionary Grange was something of a blockbuster with more richness and fullness.

Today Penfolds St Henri is a multi-regional multi-vineyard South Australian blend, primarily based on shiraz, although it still honours the original style. Significant contrbutions of shiraz come from Barossa Valley, Eden Valley, Clare Valley, McLaren Vale, Langhorne Creek, Robe and Bordertown; cabernet sauvignon from Coonawarra, Barossa Valley and Adelaide Hills. After vinification the wine is matured in seasoned large oak vats for around 15 to 18 months before bottling. 

St Henri was labelled 'Claret' until the 1989 vintage. Packaged in laser-etched bottles
since the 1996 vintage. Released in many markets under screwcap since 2005. St Henri Shiraz possesses a unique stature in the story of Australian wine. With its proven style and aging potential, it is a favourite among Penfold's collectors. 

Extract from Penfolds Rewards of Patience tasting panel 2021

After the success of early sherries and fortified wines, founders Dr Christopher and Mary Penfold planted the vine cuttings they had carried on their voyage over to Australia. In 1844 the fledging vineyard was officially established as the Penfolds wine company at Magill Estate.

As the company grew, so too did Dr Penfold's medical reputation, leaving much of the running of the winery to Mary Penfold. Early forays into Clarets and Rieslings proved increasingly popular, and on Christopher's death in 1870, Mary assumed total responsibility for the winery. Mary's reign at the helm of Penfolds saw years of determination and endeavour.

By the time Mary Penfold retired in 1884 (ceding management to her daughter, Georgina) Penfolds was producing 1/3 of all South Australia's wine. She'd set an agenda that continues today, experimenting with new methods in wine production. By Mary's death in 1896, the Penfolds legacy was well on its way to fruition. By 1907, Penfolds had become South Australia's largest winery.

In 1948, history was made again as Max Schubert became the company's first Chief Winemaker. A loyal company man and true innovator, Schubert would propel Penfolds onto the global stage with his experimentation of long-lasting wines - the creation of Penfolds Grange in the 1950s.

In 1959 (while Schubert was perfecting his Grange experiment in secret), the tradition of ‘bin wines' began. The first, a Shiraz wine with the grapes of the company's own Barossa Valley vineyards was simply named after the storage area of the cellars where it is aged. And so Kalimna Bin 28 becomes the first official Penfolds Bin number wine.

In 1960, the Penfolds board instructed Max Schubert to officially re-start production on Grange. His determination and the quality of the aged wine had won them over.

Soon, the medals began flowing and Grange quickly became one of the most revered wines around the world. In 1988 Schubert was named Decanter Magazine's Man of the Year, and on the 50th anniversary of its birth, Penfolds Grange was given a heritage listing in South Australia.

Despite great success, Penfolds never rests on its laurels. In 2012 Penfolds released its most innovative project to date - 12 handcrafted ampoules of the rare 2004 Kalimna Block Cabernet Sauvignon.

Two years later, Penfolds celebrated the 170th anniversary – having just picked up a perfect score of 100 for the 2008 Grange in two of the world's most influential wine magazines. Today, Penfolds continues to hold dear the philosophies and legends – ‘1844 to evermore!'.