Henschke, Mount Edelstone Vineyard, Eden Valley 2015

Outstanding old-vine Shiraz doesn’t need to shout to be heard. From the 103-year-old Mount Edelstone Vineyard, this opens to a mild, measured nose of vibrant red fruits, then a highly strung palate of redcurrant, plum, raspberry and blueberry with liquorice and wild fennel peeking beneath. A very bright, high-acid line keeps the flavours sharply honed, ensuring the slender palate line remains taut and prim. An earthy foil chimes in on the long finish.

A very profound sage note here with wild brambleberries, bay leaf and subtle oak influence, cast across a green-peppercorn and mint-tea nuance with such bright red berries and plums. The palate has a super plush and elegant shape and fine, velvety-tannin texture with plush, long red plums. Such poise and elegance with length and concentration here. An exceptional vintage for Mount Edelstone. Drink or hold.

Camphor, pitch and raspberry appear on the nose of Henschke's 2015 Mount Edelstone Vineyard Shiraz. It's a muscular, full-bodied expression of Eden Valley Shiraz, with notes of black olives and cassis on the palate and enough tannins to give this amply-endowed wine a savory edge. There's a lovely sense of tension between the fruity and savory elements and a long, velvety finish, making this one of the stars of the lineup—and a relative bargain compared to the Hill of Grace. The dry-farmed vineyard was planted in 1912 and has been bottled as a single-vineyard wine since 1952, making it one of the oldest such wines in Australia.

Opaque ruby. Dark berry preserves, fruitcake, pipe tobacco candied flowers and a hint of vanilla on the deeply perfumed nose. Stains the palate with sappy black and blue fruit, mocha, licorice and rose pastille flavors and exotic spice and mineral nuances add energetic lift. Fleshy and deep but lively as well, with an impressively long, gently tannic finish that shows superb focus and dark fruit-driven persistence.