Black impenetrable purple right out to the edge. Smoky cake-frosting blows off to intense eucalyptus but never quite loses its sweet chocolaty grip on the nose. A bit of alcohol rises up between the woodsy bark and humus and produces a harmonious tincture with the sharp eucalyptus, bittering and peppery-ing the ripe fruit.
One of my pet Australians, I have eagerly searched Henry’s out and drank them for 20+ years at a variety of ages. Had a slightly older one not too long ago. It is fun to compare the notes between these two and see the obvious alignments. They age BEAUTIFULLY, and although–like every other wine–the price has steadily climbed over the years, it still remains a relative bargain.
Equally crisp and bright in the mouth, the true ripeness and concentration of the fruit takes a second to brace itself and then attacks all corners like a freight-train. Massive mouthfeel without the *chewiness* some Syrahs get bogged down with. Tannin au poivre never lets you forget this is a baby, and mellow cellar-floor petrichor remind you this is a winery founded on the European classics. Throughout, a fruit-bomb brilliantly grows, never jammy, never cloying, never a ounce of flab, always in perfect balance with the road-tar frosting and icy tannin. An outstanding Aussie. One worthy of a search.
2012 HENRY’S DRIVE Shiraz Padthaway South Australia 14.5
Stephen McConnell 