2020 St Henri Shiraz

The 2020 Shiraz St Henri lives up to its traditional claret billing, reserved, subtle and built to last. Excellent color to begin before delivering a refined mix of coca, blackberry and black olive tapenade with a subtle dusting of old spice. It's mid-weight, firm and stylish, with more gravel and graphite flavors starting to emerge. The vintages' firm tannins are well-matched and draw out a lengthy finish. You can bank off this drinking well for a couple of decades.

From vineyards in McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley and Clare Valley. South Australia experienced a second consecutive year of winter drought, followed by a cool and dry spring delaying flowering and fruit set. Root-zone moisture levels were well below average making irrigation vital. The beginning of summer was marked by a state-wide heatwave. Bunch weights and berry numbers were low and yields significantly below average across the three regions. Aged for 12 months in large, seasoned oak vats. TA 6.6 g/l, pH 3.62. Blackish purple. Lifted, somehow glossy fruit. Salty start and very polished, welcoming ripe fruit until a slightly dry-season chewy finish. Not as hot on the end as some wines in this collection. But I would wait a little while for more complexity to form. (JR)

Routinely my favorite red cuvée in the Penfolds Collection (matured in large-format seasoned French oak), there is always a freshness and suppleness to the fruit that is most elegant in the glass. Here, the 2020 St Henri Shiraz shows the warm, low-yielding season from which it came in the spread of roasted beetroot, red fruits and meaty notes on the mid-palate. A chunky, savory iteration of this wine, the tannins are grippy and full in the mouth. You get aniseed and clove through the finish. 14.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.