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| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 91.3 pts. and median of 92 pts. in 63 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by mphatic on 4/9/2023: Cork, 14% alc. Signed by Penfolds winemaker, Peter Taylor. Auction purchase in the early 2000s.
Medium garnet/ pale ruby. Some bricking.
Level into neck. Cork damp all through, and completely disintegrated upon opening with an Ah-So. minimal ullage.
Sweet, damp earth, cherry, blueberry, leather, licorice, light soy sauce. Hewn oak.
Tannins largely resolved, slightly grainy. Savoury and dusty palate with dried sour edged fruit. Acidic line. Losing some fruit, and likely over the crest, but still life left. A bottle by bottle proposition at this age. (737 views) | | | Tasted by brisbane piefan on 5/19/2021 & rated 94 points: Probably not going to improve much from here. Nice aged red. Minimal ullage, cork came out in one piece successfully. Moderate bricking. Fruit fading slightly with some smoky cigar box notes coming through. (2140 views) | | | Tasted by graemeg on 4/4/2021: {cork, 14%} Aging, bricking note to the colour. Decanted off a fair amount of sediment. Cork half damp, ullage fine. Nose a bit acetic, leathery. All very tertiary. Palate is very advanced, a bit ‘generic old wine’, with leather and rotting fruit, aged strawberries, maybe. Trembly acidity, faded tannins. Medium weight, with a medium length but not very seductive finish. On this instance, on the downslope. (2194 views) | | | Tasted by willmark on 11/12/2020 & rated 88 points: 12th Nob 2020: on its last legs, will not improve any further...drink up remaining bottles! (2524 views) | | | Tasted by fizz on 8/1/2020: Level in to the neck. Cork barely soaked.
Dark garnet. Black fruits and a touch of spice on the nose. Elegant and refined palate, integrated tannins are in the background. There’s so much to like here. It builds in the glass and seems to gain momentum over a few hours. This bottle was singing. (2647 views) | | | Tasted by Samlcc on 4/18/2020 & rated 95 points: - Garnet color with medium forming legs. It's balanced with a medium/full body. Polished texture with a medium finish. (2250 views) | | | Tasted by rgawlowski on 1/6/2020 & rated 94 points: Very smooth and subtle; mild, sweet fruit; excellent finish. (1718 views) | | | Tasted by jeffbrod on 10/10/2019 & rated 94 points: Lovely wine. Plenty of life left in this but I'd drink it now. (1752 views) | | | Tasted by willmark on 7/19/2019 & rated 95 points: 19th July 2019
Decanted for 30mins; didn’t take long to open and breathe.
Colour is dark, no sign of age...but not big in fruits either...wine comes across as very balanced, aged well over the years...very elegant finish....still can cellar for a few more years.. (1660 views) | | | Tasted by Bing57 on 11/10/2018 & rated 93 points: Remarkably fresh, bright and vibrant. Some real depth of savoury and sawdust notes under the fruit, dark berry of course. Heavy sediment - decanting vital. Shame I only had one. (2008 views) | | | Tasted by fizz on 10/13/2018: 55th TWIGS Tasting (Villa Chang): Cork. 14% alc.
Dark garnet centre. Lovely bouquet - sweet black and blue fruits, dried herbs. It's an elegant wine in the mouth, with fine, integrating, soft tannins providing just enough structure for the harmonious, mid-weighted palate to flow to a long finish. There are developed characters coming out in the wine. It's in a nice spot right now. (1953 views) | | | Tasted by fizz on 8/25/2018: Level in to the neck. Cork only 1/3 soaked.
Fruit fading but still present, with lovely developed nuances. Lots of interest in the medium, resolved palate. Lovey drinking. (1844 views) | | | Tasted by willmark on 12/25/2017 & rated 88 points: 25th Dec 2017
Beginning to show its age...still enjoyable though but is a clear second when followed with the 1998 vintage... (2197 views) | | | Tasted by fizz on 12/6/2017: Another bottle in super condition. Balance of primary and secondary aromas and flavours, with an elegant, harmonious medium weight palate. There's some depth here, and some complexities - nothing sticking out though. Black fruits, leather, hint of pepper. Tannins are fine and almost completely resolved. It's drinking wonderfully well. (2100 views) | | | Tasted by fizz on 6/27/2017: Decanted 30 minutes. Perfect cork. Colour again showed minimal bricking, with a deep garnet centre. Delicate nose, plum, blue fruits overlain with wild herbs and a hint of anise. It's a wine of elegance and finesse. Tannins resolved, everything harmonious. The finish is soft and with reasonable length. Peaking now. (2612 views) | | | Tasted by fizz on 6/10/2017 & rated 92 points: Perfect cork. Minimal ullage. Garnet, with no bricking. Black fruits still present, but now showing mellowed flavours. Lovely balance here, with mid weighted intensity and a refined finish. Too easy to drink with no thought given to it's age! The lack of complexity overshadowed by the sophistication. (2569 views) | | | Tasted by willmark on 4/29/2017 & rated 88 points: 29th April 2017
Decantered 30 mins
Colour has brown hues reflecting its age; was concerned that we had cellared this wine past it drink by age. The nose however was very inviting; hints of sweetness, berries and cassis. The wine began to open up the longer it decantered. It is very balanced. The finish unfortunately was a little dry and short. Though Penfolds have informed me these 1996 can continue to cellar well another decade, am really concerned about the longevity of the remaining bottles. (2610 views) | | | Tasted by graemeg on 4/29/2017: {cork, 14%} From my cellar, decanted just prior to drinking. Excellent-looking cork, a heap of sediment encrusted on the bottle; very little in the wine. Some bricking to the garnet colour. Aged and even slightly tired nose; leathery old red flavours, a touch of mustiness perhaps. No TCA though. Slightly raisin-like quality to the flavours; blackberry maybe, not much tar. Medium-bodied, with low/medium dusty tannins, little obvious oak, medium acid. Good balance along the tongue, and medium/long finish dry, not too astringent. This was good, if seemingly a bit below expectation. On this sample you'd say drink up, but I've had better examples recently, so it's a crap-shoot nowadays. (2198 views) | | | Tasted by G.M. on 2/26/2017 & rated 93 points: Perfectly ripened, sweet red and dark fruit mingled with developing complexity. Intense and lengthy. Satisfying. Excellent vintage of one of Penfolds better valued wines. Yet to hit its peak. (93 Excellent wine) (2488 views) | | | Tasted by felixp on 9/28/2016 & rated 86 points: yea well, I guess this is a well made, clean and true to form kinda wine, but oh so boring. Excitement factor zero.
Hang on for another decade and hope for a miracle.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz (2410 views) | | | Tasted by graemeg on 7/5/2016: NobleRottersSydney - 1996 night (360 Bar & Dining, Sydney): {cork, 14%} {Greg} Decanted at table. Rich, developing nose of dark blackberry fruits, plums; it really is intense with a real red depth to it. The palate is gorgeous; intense, alive with structural dusty tannins and medium/high acid; it doesn’t miss the oak at all, such is the tightly-bound purity of the red shiraz fruit, walking a perfect line between sweet and savoury. It’s not without a tobacco-like hint of age either. Medium-bodied, maybe just a little more, but I thinks that’s subjectively because it all hangs together so beautifully. Best example of this wine I’ve had so far, and on this tasting, has years ahead of it still. (2657 views) | | | Tasted by chatters on 6/12/2016: jammy black fruit cherry voer berry, vanilla, chocolate. Slight mustiness, quite, thick and dense black fruit, very slight Ribena, plain chocolate, talc textured tannins that are drying but doesn't dominate the fruit. Long. Fleshy with being too juicy. Very good. (2128 views) | | | Tasted by graemeg on 5/27/2016: {cork 14%} Garnet with a touch of brick. Surprisingly reticent nose, although it opened up with time. A longer decant would probably have helped; this was done just prior to drinking. The bouquet is prettily floral, with a little spice. The 'little oak' has rarely been so obvious as here. The palate is just medium-bodied, with soft red fruits and only some development evident. Doesn't really seem twenty I must say. But fairly low key, despite the even balance on the palate. Gentle low level tannins, medium acid. Only a medium length finish. Part of me suspects this needs another decade to truly shine. Another part of me is ever-so-slightly disappointed. (2323 views) | | | Tasted by Cumberland on 6/5/2015: Way past its best. I suspect poorly cellared by others. Dry cork, dirty nose, brown colour out of the bottle, dull and lifeless in the decanter, good mouth feel but no fruit, slight tannins suggesting firmness and structure. (3067 views) | | | Tasted by wp_drinkers on 11/29/2014 & rated 89 points: Very different to the previous bottle. Cork was in great condition. Nose is a little muted really. With some primary dark fruits and hints of leather. Mouth is interesting. Really quite high acid and plenty of fruit. Tannins well integrated. I wouldn't say the finish is short, but no where near the length of previous bottles. Just goes to show, there aren't great wines, only great bottles. (3177 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of JancisRobinson.com and The World of Fine Wine and The WINEFRONT and Halliday Wine Companion and Vinous. (manage subscription channels) |
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About Us
Australia's winemaking history of less than two hundred years is brief by European measures though, like Europe, punctuated by periods of extreme success and difficult times. From the earliest winemaking days Penfolds has figured prominently and few would argue the importance of Penfolds’ influence on Australia’s winemaking psyche.
Without the influence of Penfolds the modern Australian wine industry would look very different indeed. Sitting comfortably outside of fad and fashion, Penfolds has taken Australian wine to the world on a grand stage and forged a reputation for quality that is without peer.
Penfolds’ reputation for making wines of provenance and cellaring potential might suggest a mantle of tradition and formality is the preferred attire of a company with so much history to defend. But to label Penfolds as simply an established and conventional winemaker, would be to confuse tradition with consideration and to overlook the innovative spirit that has driven Penfolds since its foundation, and continues to find expression in modern times.
If there is anything traditional about Penfolds, it is the practice of constantly reviewing the wines it already does well, and continuously evolving and refining styles as vineyards mature and access to ever older and more varied vineyard sites improves.
Making The Best Possible Wine
At Penfolds, the role of the winemaker is to make the best possible wine within the constraints of each vintage. Penfolds’ house style emerged from a fortified-wine producing culture and evolved as a winemaking philosophy – a way of making wine – which has had a profound effect on the entire Australian wine industry.
The concept of multi-regional and vineyard blending, a feature of the Penfolds house style, is an amplification of the ‘all-round wine’. Without the constraints of a single vineyard, winemakers could choose the best possible fruit with the outstanding characteristics of each vineyard.
While American oak has played a central role in the development of Penfolds red wines, French oak has been increasingly used in the evolution of new wines – particularly RWT and Yattarna. Maturation in oak, which follows fermentation, is also key to the Penfolds house style.
The Penfolds approach to winemaking has percolated through the entire Australian wine industry over the last 50 years. The techniques employed in research and development of Penfolds wines are remarkable and many of the discoveries and innovations have had a lasting impact on winemaking thinking.
Winemakers
In Max Schubert, Don Ditter, John Duval and Peter Gago, Penfolds has nurtured four of Australia's great winemakers. They have passed the Chief Winemaker’s baton of responsibility for crafting some of Australia's most iconic wines, down through the past six decades.
Joining Peter Gago in the Penfolds winemaking team are Senior Red Winemaker Steve Lienert, Senior White Winemaker Kym Schroeter, and Red Winemakers Andrew Baldwin, Adam Clay, Stephanie Dutton and Matt Woo - also the Penfolds Fortified Winemaker. All members of the Penfolds winemaking team ensure that Penfolds’ reputation for outstanding quality is upheld.
Vineyards
Barossa Valley
Penfolds draws fruit from a combined vineyard area of 618 hectares in the Barossa region of South Australia. The Barossa is about 70 kilometres north of Adelaide and in 1911 Penfolds established a winery at Nuriootpa, completed in time for the 1913 vintage. The Barossa region is known for its relatively low rainfall with many vineyards dry grown on single wire trellising.
Magill Estate
The historic and heritage-protected Magill Estate Vineyard was established in 1844 by Dr Christopher Rawson and Mary Penfold—just eight years after the foundation of Adelaide. It was originally known as the Grange Vineyard, named after their new homestead ‘The Grange’, a cottage which still stands intact amongst the vines.
Eden Valley
Joseph Gilbert planted the first vines in the Eden Valley in 1842 and since that time the region has become synonymous with producing elegant riesling and complex shiraz. While its name suggests a concave nature, Eden Valley is actually a wide ridge, situated east of the Barossa Valley with an altitude ranging from 440 – 550 metres.
McLaren Vale
McLaren Vale is located approximately 40km to the south of Adelaide, with the vineyards in the region located between 6 and 15 kilometres from the Gulf of St Vincent. The elevation ranges from 50 to 350 metres above sea level. Penfolds has company owned vineyards throughout the region, using the fruit as blending components for premium red wines such as Grange and Bin 389.
Coonawarra
Penfolds has had a long history with the Coonawarra region, dating back to their first vineyard purchase in 1960. It is one of the most famous red wine regions in Australia with weathered limestone terra rossa soils, relatively cool climate and overall water availability. Coonawarra has played a significant role in many of Penfolds' multi-regional wines as well as the single region wines such as Bin 128.
James Halliday Australian Wine Companion Winery Of The Year 2014: Penfolds
Penfolds is Australia’s foremost winemaker, with an unbroken line dating back to its establishment in 1844 when medical practitioner Dr Christopher Rawson Penfold and wife Mary purchased ‘the delightfully situated and truly valuable of Mackgill … Comprising 500 acres (202 hectares) of the choicest land’. Here they built the house that still stands today, and within a few years had begun the winery and cellar on the site of today’s buildings at Magill Estate.
Mary took charge of winemaking, initially producing grenache prescribed by her husband as a tonic for anaemic patients. By 1870 she, son-in-law Thomas Hyland and cellar manager/winemaker Joseph Gillard had formed Penfolds & Co. With markets in South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales, their wine production was over one-third of South Australia’s total.
Growth continued unabated, and in 1945 Penfolds acquired the jewel of the Magill Vineyard, at that time the largest vineyard in South Australia. It now has 2100 hectares of vineyards, the largest share of Australia’s total. Two men came together in the 1950s to lay the foundation of Penfolds today: winemaker Max Schubert, and research chemist Ray Beckwith (who died shortly after his 100th birthday in 2012); indeed, their contribution transcended Penfolds to the entire Australian wine industry.
The architecture for the Penfolds wine portfolio of the twenty-first century was established in the 1960s, half a century ago. There has been growth, both in the range of labels and their price points, but it has been cleverly – indeed sensitively – managed; demand-driven growth has been achieved without any quality compromise whatsoever.
There is no possibility that the pre-eminence of Penfolds will ever be challenged by any other Australian wine business. Equally certain is that the Penfolds brand value will continue to gain ground on the world stage of all consumable products. If proof be needed, the overall quality of the wines in this Wine Companion is the best Penfolds has ever presented to the markets of the globe.
Author: James Halliday Jul 2013Penfolds Shiraz St. HenriThe Rewards of Patience (7th Edition)
Vintage Label Shiraz Cabernet
2011 St Henri Shiraz 100%
2010 St Henri Shiraz 100%
2009 St Henri Shiraz 97% 3%
2008 St Henri Shiraz 91% 9%
2007 St Henri Shiraz 100%
2006 St Henri Shiraz 89% 11%
2005 St Henri Shiraz 89% 11%
2004 St Henri Shiraz 96% 4%
2003 St Henri Shiraz 100%
2002 St Henri Shiraz 90% 10%
2001 St Henri Shiraz 100%
2000 St Henri Shiraz 100%
1999 St Henri Shiraz 89% 11%
1998 St Henri Shiraz 92% 8%
1997 St Henri Shiraz 92% 8%
1996 St Henri Shiraz 90% 10%
1995 St Henri Shiraz- Cabernet 85% 15%
1994 St Henri Shiraz- Cabernet 77% 23%
1993 St Henri Shiraz- Cabernet 87% 13%
1992 St Henri Shiraz- Cabernet 79% 21%
1991 St Henri Shiraz 90% 10%
1990 St Henri Shiraz 89% 11%
1989 St Henri Claret 89% 11%
1988 St Henri Claret 88% 12%
1987 St Henri Claret 87% 13%
1986 St Henri Claret 86% 14%
1985 St Henri Claret 99% 1%
1984 St Henri Claret 77% 23%
1983 St Henri Claret 81% 19%
1982 St Henri Claret 61% 39%
1981 St Henri Claret 74% 26%
1980 St Henri Claret 77% 23%
1979 St Henri Claret 67% 33%
1978 St Henri Claret 56% 44%
1977 St Henri Claret 51% 49%
1976 St Henri Claret 74% 26%
1975 St Henri Claret 75% 25%
1974 St Henri Claret
1973 St Henri Claret
1972 St Henri Claret
1971 St Henri Claret
1970 St Henri Claret
1969 St Henri Claret
1968 St Henri Claret
1967 St Henri Claret
1966 St Henri Claret
1965 St Henri Claret
1964 St Henri Claret
1963 St Henri Claret
1962 St Henri Claret
1961 St Henri Claret
1960 St Henri Claret
1959 St Henri Claret
1958 St Henri Claret
1957 St Henri Claret
1956 St Henri Claret
Shiraz Varietal article (Wikipedia) | Varietal character (Appellation America)St. HenriHomepage for Penfolds, St. Henri:
https://www.penfolds.com/en-au/wines/the-penfolds-collection/st-henri-shiraz/Australia Wine Australia (Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation) | Australian Wines (Wikipedia)South Australia South Australian Wine Industry Association | South Australian Wines (Wikipedia) |
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