Drinking a 32 years old wine is a privilege and this was an outstanding bottle, bordering on exceptional. Being an old wine, its colour had developed a brownish tinge but the beautiful clarity was still there. I was reluctant to decant it but I decided to decant it an hour before consumption. Wrong! I should have decanted it earlier as its beauty and power did not not reveal themselves until much later. A medium body wine with still plenty of fine tannin to support the wine. The nose had hints of salami, earthiness and spices (cloves). The body was complex and supple with plum or berry notes, chocolate or liquorice and grounded with nice oak. A stupendous wine. Drink now or 7+ years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Pnp. The nose was initially funky but it quickly blew off. Nose displayed herbs, earth, and cinnamon roll. Palate was soft and resolved. Round and velvety. Very enjoyable but likely slightly off peak.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Medium minus brick red. Medium minus intensity, blackberry, hints of blueberry and vanilla, slight mintiness. Medium plus body, medium plus tannin, medium plus length, medium plus alcohol. Wine is well integrated with developed tertiary characters shining through. In very good shape and very enjoyable.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Light colour, earthy nose with some black fruits. Some initial oak character that dissipated with time. Spicy dark fruits but the fruit is fading. Great old wine probably past its peak but still very enjoyable drinking.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Quite expressive nose with red fruit and cherries mixed with spices, cedar, earthy notes. Good acidity, round, velvety. Still ripe, sweet fruit, good texture but quite evolved.Very subtle, slightly spicy, fresh with wonderful length. Drink or hold. 94-96
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Post Recette dinner at Ray's. This followed an 89 Chateau Angelus.
Aged/older nose that still has some power but has become more elegant with age. Sweet fruits and eucalyptus. Tannins are resolved and dusty.
Would describe as medium to full wieght. Red fruits, mushrooms, earth, eucalyptus...Great wine, towards the end of its life. will continue to age gracefully, my guess is fruit will start fading
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Keith's Blind Challenge 2012 (The Square, London): Blind. Quite a full garnet.Sweet fruited nose with a minty eucalyptus nose that reminds me straight away of Henshke HoG - not quite as over done on the nose as a recent 90 but that's by far the closest reference point I have. Very decent, but it is quite sweet though nicely balanced and not hot. ***1/2
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
NobleRottersSydney - Henschke (Alio's, Surry Hills): [13%, cork] {Gordon} Garnet wine. Aged nose of velvety spice and fruit cake, still quite intense and not feeble in any way. Palate is a little more tired, with low level fine dusty tannins and just medium-bodied weight. Slightly caramel-tinged flavours of old raisins; it’s quite silkily textured, but the finish is only medium length, and a bit one-dimensional for such an august label. Objectively this is on the downslope of its evolution now; get into it quickly before things fade too far.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
(Similar to the 1970 Sterling Cab, I'm not experienced enough to rate this.) Although my buddy's expertise with all things Pinot and so, his disagreement with my assessment, notable...for me, this was a dead ringer for a well-aged Central Coast (or Anderson Vly) Pinot - medium ruby with notable clarity; subtle, earth & wild mushroom tinged red fruit; subdued but still present acidity and totally resolved tannins. This has been one of my "dream wines" and although I've got to imagine that a modern version would differ greatly from what I experienced here, I'm still glowing from my last sip!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
A strange Bordeaux character in its graphite and earth profile; still, more Hermitage-like meaty notes. Subtle nose, lots going on and very appealing. Resolved palate with a good acidic kick to the finish. Elegant wine. Very good.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Medium light red color with lightening at the edge. Full clear aroma of red fruit. Full red fruit with fairly puckering tannin. Showing age, but a little less graceful. 12/04
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
NobleRottersSydney - Penfolds v Henschke (de Burgh's, Sydney): Bright red. Polished nose of, well, old HoG, really. Soft red berry fruits on the palate. Mirror-smooth palate. Tannin, acid and fruit – silky blackberries – have all melded into a harmonious whole. Medium weight (lighter than the 89 Grange), but still with a lingering finish. Class wine approaching its peak.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Still a deep red. Seductive blackberry nose; even smells silky, never mind the palate. Wonderful balance of acid and fine powdery tannins, great length of finish; dry, medium-full bodied. A grand wine, at best over next ten years. (Elanora Wine Dinner)
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
8/8/2020 - tanduybui Likes this wine: 96 Points
Drinking a 32 years old wine is a privilege and this was an outstanding bottle, bordering on exceptional. Being an old wine, its colour had developed a brownish tinge but the beautiful clarity was still there. I was reluctant to decant it but I decided to decant it an hour before consumption. Wrong! I should have decanted it earlier as its beauty and power did not not reveal themselves until much later. A medium body wine with still plenty of fine tannin to support the wine. The nose had hints of salami, earthiness and spices (cloves). The body was complex and supple with plum or berry notes, chocolate or liquorice and grounded with nice oak. A stupendous wine. Drink now or 7+ years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/8/2019 - Burgnick Likes this wine: 92 Points
Pnp. The nose was initially funky but it quickly blew off. Nose displayed herbs, earth, and cinnamon roll. Palate was soft and resolved. Round and velvety. Very enjoyable but likely slightly off peak.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/7/2018 - WineSpat Likes this wine: 92 Points
Medium minus brick red. Medium minus intensity, blackberry, hints of blueberry and vanilla, slight mintiness. Medium plus body, medium plus tannin, medium plus length, medium plus alcohol. Wine is well integrated with developed tertiary characters shining through. In very good shape and very enjoyable.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/12/2017 - GregK59 wrote: 90 Points
Light colour, earthy nose with some black fruits. Some initial oak character that dissipated with time. Spicy dark fruits but the fruit is fading. Great old wine probably past its peak but still very enjoyable drinking.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/12/2014 - rossi.wine wrote: 95 Points
Quite expressive nose with red fruit and cherries mixed with spices, cedar, earthy notes. Good acidity, round, velvety. Still ripe, sweet fruit, good texture but quite evolved.Very subtle, slightly spicy, fresh with wonderful length. Drink or hold. 94-96
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/25/2014 - Dave Herzig wrote: 89 Points
Past it's best drink by date, very disappointing
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/4/2013 - walkerjfw wrote: 92 Points
Post Recette dinner at Ray's. This followed an 89 Chateau Angelus.
Aged/older nose that still has some power but has become more elegant with age. Sweet fruits and eucalyptus. Tannins are resolved and dusty.
Would describe as medium to full wieght. Red fruits, mushrooms, earth, eucalyptus...Great wine, towards the end of its life. will continue to age gracefully, my guess is fruit will start fading
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/18/2012 - CamWheeler wrote: 94 Points
Complex spice, cherry, earth and iron aromas. The palate is resolved and superbly balanced. Simply outstanding drinking now
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/15/2012 - Rupert wrote: 91 Points
9th Annual Blind Challenge (The Square, Mayfair, London): Minty, eucalyptus, volatile, rich fruit. I like this a lot. A non-Penfolds Aussie Shiraz? Simon says Henschke and once again is correct.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/15/2012 - SimonG wrote: 90 Points
Keith's Blind Challenge 2012 (The Square, London): Blind. Quite a full garnet.Sweet fruited nose with a minty eucalyptus nose that reminds me straight away of Henshke HoG - not quite as over done on the nose as a recent 90 but that's by far the closest reference point I have. Very decent, but it is quite sweet though nicely balanced and not hot. ***1/2
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/4/2012 - graemeg wrote:
NobleRottersSydney - Henschke (Alio's, Surry Hills): [13%, cork] {Gordon} Garnet wine. Aged nose of velvety spice and fruit cake, still quite intense and not feeble in any way. Palate is a little more tired, with low level fine dusty tannins and just medium-bodied weight. Slightly caramel-tinged flavours of old raisins; it’s quite silkily textured, but the finish is only medium length, and a bit one-dimensional for such an august label. Objectively this is on the downslope of its evolution now; get into it quickly before things fade too far.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/6/2010 - golfwine wrote:
(Similar to the 1970 Sterling Cab, I'm not experienced enough to rate this.)
Although my buddy's expertise with all things Pinot and so, his disagreement with my assessment, notable...for me, this was a dead ringer for a well-aged Central Coast (or Anderson Vly) Pinot - medium ruby with notable clarity; subtle, earth & wild mushroom tinged red fruit; subdued but still present acidity and totally resolved tannins. This has been one of my "dream wines" and although I've got to imagine that a modern version would differ greatly from what I experienced here, I'm still glowing from my last sip!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/2/2007 - psmith wrote:
A strange Bordeaux character in its graphite and earth profile; still, more Hermitage-like meaty notes. Subtle nose, lots going on and very appealing. Resolved palate with a good acidic kick to the finish. Elegant wine. Very good.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/24/2007 - Russell Faulkner wrote: 93 Points
David's Birthday Bash - Mature Wines Offline (Caldesi Restaurant - London): A slight nose, quite barolo like with soft dried mint, very savoury, not very northern rhone like, a sweetness to the finish, a very well made wine, if only more Austalian wines were like this.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/1/2004 - winefool wrote: 93 Points
Medium light red color with lightening at the edge. Full clear aroma of red fruit. Full red fruit with fairly puckering tannin. Showing age, but a little less graceful. 12/04
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/2/1999 - graemeg wrote:
NobleRottersSydney - Penfolds v Henschke (de Burgh's, Sydney): Bright red. Polished nose of, well, old HoG, really. Soft red berry fruits on the palate. Mirror-smooth palate. Tannin, acid and fruit – silky blackberries – have all melded into a harmonious whole. Medium weight (lighter than the 89 Grange), but still with a lingering finish. Class wine approaching its peak.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/19/1999 - graemeg wrote:
Still a deep red. Seductive blackberry nose; even smells silky, never mind the palate. Wonderful balance of acid and fine powdery tannins, great length of finish; dry, medium-full bodied. A grand wine, at best over next ten years. (Elanora Wine Dinner)
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment