PENFOLDS ST HENRI SHIRAZ 2020

Winery notes (2020 Vintage)
"St Henri is a favourite among collectors with its proven style, elegant profile and aging potential. It is unusual amongst high quality Australian red wines as it does not rely on any new oak.  In the 2020 release, explore a sweet and savoury palate – fresh blueberry, exotic spice and olive brine. A classic St Henri.

The fruit profile is a delight, oak playing no role in the aromatics. Shiraz, unadulterated! The descriptors need to be coaxed from the glass with a gentle swirl. Fruits of the forest are first to emerge, berry conserve, strawberry flan and rhubarb tart. There is a hit of confectionary, reminiscent of red glace cherries. Savoury notes include German Blutwurst spiced sausage, pan scrapings from roast lamb and salt cured beef with black peppercorns. Ferric notes of iron filings and whetstone swarf round out an impressive showing.

True to form, the palate is quite savoury. Japanese nori paper and olive brine offer a very morish umami nuance. Fresh blueberry and mulberry leaf anchor the core of the mid-palate. Exotic spices adding intrigue, Alleppey turmeric, toasted cumin, pimento.  The tannins are very tactile, comparable to Dutch cocoa. A classic St Henri that will reward extended time in the cellar."

19+/20 Matthew Jukes (2020 Vintage)
"This is an awesome and statuesque St Henri with commanding tannins and a glossy, succulent indulgent and luxurious feel throughout. It has incredible weight and stunning balance and ripeness. I worry that people will drink it the moment it arrives on their doorstep because the fruit is so darned luxurious, but I can imagine that it will run for decades such is the class on display here. Drink 2025 – 2050."

96/100 Andrew Caillard MW (2020 Vintage)
"Deep crimson. Fragrant inky, blackberry, graphite aromas with hints of roasted walnut, spice. Complex and evolved with blackberry, dark chocolate, tobacco leaf, chinotto flavours fine loose knit lacy chalky firm tannins, and underlying graphite, walnut notes. Finishes claret firm and tight. A refined style with lovely complexity and mineral length. Should develop very well. 100% Shiraz, McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley, Clare Valley, 12 months maturation in large seasoned oak vats. Drink 2025 – 2040."

96/100 Dave Brookes (2020 Vintage)
"St Henri has always been one of my favourite Penfolds wines. A multiregional shiraz aged for 12 months in large, old oak vats, I was always enamored with its less percussive attributes and proven lineage of cellar worthiness. Crimson with pure notes of plum compote, cherry clafoutis, roasting meats, earth, spice, ironstone, mocha, pan juices and the faintest wisp of wintergreen. It's such a comforting wine, with its unobstructed view of fruit and vintage, finishing savoury with powdery tannin grip and a dusting of cocoa powder and coal dust. Lovely stuff. Drink 2023 – 2045."

95/100 David Walker Bell, WineFolio.co.nz, September 2023 (2020 Vintage)
"A picture of Shiraz, simply presented. The uncomplicated accent here is a delight. No over-ripeness, no oak to speak of, just a wodge of varietal purity. Mint, pepper, black olive, dried herbs, sumac overlay the forest fruits. Rich and textured with supple tannin and a swoon of easy-drinkability already. "

94+/100 Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front, July 2023 (2020 Vintage)
"Grown in the McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley and Clare Valley regions. 12 months in large seasoned oak vats. This is a bit of a surprise packet. It’s quite bold for a St henri. It’s also inherently complex, even as a young wine. Meats, herbs, cherries and plums, with clove, fennel and smoke notes dancing throughout. It’s juicy. It plays treble and bass. It’s both typical and atypical. St Henri is often the hardest wine to access as a young wine of all the Penfolds’ wines; here we are again. It’s a juicy conundrum inside a meaty enigma. No one will mind the extra fruit power here."