NobleRottersSydney - South Aust trip (2) Barossa

Henschke/Penfolds/Seppelt/Magill
Tasted Friday, August 25, 2000 by graemeg with 715 views

Introduction

continued from part 1

Flight 1 (5 Notes)

Hosted by Stephen Henschke. A little history lecture, followed by a tour of the winery, cellars, bottling plant, then a vertical, horizontal & new release tasting. Finally a bus ride to the Hill of Grace & Mt Edelstone vineyards.

  • 2000 Henschke Sémillon "Louis"

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley

    A small vertical tasting. Interesting progression of flavours demonstrating aging characteristics of semillon. The 00 vintage (low yield year, like ’83) had a very fresh floral nose, bright passionfruit, and was strongly acidic. The 96 still had lemon & straw characters. The 94 & 90 became increasingly toasty, with gentle oak and honey flavours predominating in softened, integrated wines showing no signs of passing their peak. A surprise for what is usually thought of as an early-drinking wine.

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  • 1996 Henschke Riesling Julius

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley

    Under cork; mid straw with hint of green. Under Stelvin; pale-mid straw with green. Lighter than the cork. The cork bottle shows some of the traditional aging characteristics of riesling – some honey, even a hint of Kero. The Stelvin, on the other hand, showed hardly any aging at all – could have been a 99. Very strong citrus/green apple/limey flavours. I wondered if it was starting to enter a ‘quiet’ phase – Stephen reckons there’s not nearly the dip in development that rieslings under cork have. Fascinating, and a great wine, too.

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  • 2000 Henschke Shiraz Mount Edelstone

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley

    3 barrel samples made up the previous day showing effects of different trellising (control v Vertical Shoot Positioning v Scott-Henry). Will spend another 12-18 months in barrel. In fact, it was very hard to detect differences between Control/VSP. The S-H was a little spicier on the nose. The wine smells of raw raspberries, plums & oak and is very crimson-red, not at all like the colour in the bottle upon release. The S-H wine is maybe a little more rounded on the palate, with greater intensity. All had very soft tannins, but of course are still unfinished. About half of MtE vineyard is S-H these days.

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  • 1996 Henschke Cyril Henschke

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley

    Beautiful deep red. Nose is herbal, with cassis & strong eucalypt notes. Tannins are fine, and strong, fruit is powerful on palate but all is in balance. Great length – super wine.

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  • 1996 Henschke Shiraz Hill of Grace

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley

    Deep intense red/black – like looking into a coalmine. Exotic, spicy, complex nose of white pepper. Huge wine on palate. Extremely young & raw, with a giant mouthful of red berry fruit and fine strong tannins. Great mouthfeel – an iron fist in a velvet glove. Stunning length. No spitting here. Yum.

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Flight 2 (4 Notes)

At Nuriootpa. Hosted by Fiona MacDonald, senior red winemaker. A tour of the (red) winery & a walk through the air-conditioned barrel store (70,000+ barrels) followed by a short tasting of some 'different' wines. Penfolds brand unless mentioned otherwise.

  • 2000 Penfolds Riesling Reserve Bin

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley

    Almost colourless. Incredibly intense lime nose. Immensely round & mouthfilling with zingy acid. Freshness city here. In bottle for 1 week.

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  • 1999 Penfolds Pinot Noir Cellar Reserve

    Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Adelaide Hills

    A Cellar Door wine. Slightly dullish red-brown?! Stewed vegetable nose. Understated fruit, a bit stalky. Quite big, tannic & clumsy on the palate. Odd wine.

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  • 1998 Edwards & Chaffey Shiraz Section 353

    Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

    Purple/black. Nose of violets, blackberry & inky licorice. On palate huge fleshy concentrated fruit (French oak). Tannins are also enormous. I guess it’s balanced but almost to big to tell. Needs a lot of time.

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  • 1998 Penfolds Shiraz RWT

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

    Purple/black. Spicy black pepper nose plus essence of Barossa shiraz fruit. Cedary French oak characteristics lend a hint of elegance, but its certainly not lean. A full palate and a long, long finish.

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Flight 3 (4 Notes)

A tasting at Seppeltsfield, with lunch, followed by a tour of the Historic Winery and the Fortified Barrel Store. Also tasted a nv Fortified:
DP104 Oloroso Sherry – a relic from somewhere! Rich burnt caramel flavours. Very sweet & intense. Great length – almost a tokay!

Flight 4 (8 Notes)

Dinner at Penfolds Magill Estate Restaurant August 25, 2000, including a quick visit to the Max Schubert room where Pendolfs store many of their museum wines for the restaurant's wine list.

Closing

continued in part 3

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