Henschke, Mount Edelstone Vineyard, Eden Valley 2016

The 2016 Shiraz Mount Edelstone offers robust layers of blackberry and sandy earth with warming alcohol. It is a bold and muscular expression of site, with impressive fruit power, minerality and tannin density. The finish is strong, tannic and beautifully composed. This will be fabulous in time.

Powerful but unobtrusive tannins – like an engine purring – support dark, perfectly ripe blackberry, mulberry and plum fruit, with hints of strawberry, red fruit leather and smoked charcuterie notes from the oak. Spice and dried herb nuances unfurl over three days, beautifully articulating the terroir and its 104-year-old vines through notes of black pepper, sage, tea tree, star anise, mint and cardamom. Ripe and refreshing redcurrant sustains the sweet, spiced fruit through the long, sinuous finish. Terrific purity, poise and panache. Released at £137.

The 2016 Mount Edelstone Vineyard Shiraz leads with pastille and cassis, blackberry, mulberry and raspberry. It is powerfully fruit-driven, bolstered by a flow of abundant tannin. While this remains true to its savory profile, the core of fruit here is sweet and polished. I like/appreciate the interplay between the acidity and the tannins here. This is a very smart wine indeed. It has a pH of 3.48, 6.57 grams per liter of total acidity and 14.5% alcohol.

According to Henschke: "Below-average winter rainfall was followed by a warm and dry spring, enhancing flowering and fruit set to give high yield potential. Low disease pressure was maintained by one of the hottest Decembers on record, although temperatures cooled down in the New Year, and rainfall in late January and early March eased stress. The fruit matured with an earlier harvest, as predicted due to an early Easter, and overall was characterized by average yields but very high quality."