2017 Penfolds St Henri Shiraz

Other Reviews....
Saturated violet. Spice-accented cherry, cassis and licorice aromas show fine detail and a smoky mineral topnote emerges as the wine opens up. Vibrant blackberry and bitter cherry flavors are supported by a core of zesty acidity and become sweeter and deeper on the back half. Smoothly melds depth and vivacity and finishes juicy and extremely long, with mounting tannins and lingering dark fruit and licorice qualities. Drink 2030 - 2040.
95 Points
Josh Raynolds - Antonio Galloni's Vinous (January 2021)

The cool and late vintage kissed the wine on both cheeks, making the classic maturation in 50yo vats doubly welcome. A glimpse of the future is the use of fruit from Port Lincoln joining the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, and Eden Valley in the blend. This has none of the hardness that sometimes gives an edge to St Henri, purity stepping in to its sculpted palate. Includes 3% cabernet sauvignon. Drink by 2047.
96 Points
James Halliday's Australian Wine Companion (August 2021)

This has a very impressive, intense nose with a cool and spicy edge, as well as aromas of red flowers and fresh raspberries, set amid some wild-herb tones. The palate has very expressive raspberry and cranberry flavors, delivered among fine, crunchy and lithe, juicy tannins. The palate has a deep, red-plum core that’s quite tautly contained and wrapped up neatly for some time to come. Try this from 2025. Screw cap.
95 Points
JamesSuckling.com (July 2020)

The St Henri point of difference is that it's aged in old, large wooden vats. Sourced from throughout South Australia, the 2017 St Henri Shiraz reveals no oak in its rather raw, unrefined notes of bloody beef, mixed berries, black olives and road tar. It's full-bodied and still tannic at this stage, with a bit of coarseness on the finish that hopefully time will soften. While not the best vintage for St Henri, it's a commendable effort that should age well. Drink 2025 - 2040.
93 Points
Joe Czerwinski - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (July 2020)

Impressive for the purity of the blueberry, cherry and huckleberry flavors, with touches of Dutch cocoa, espresso and toasted herb. Wonderful, dense, toothsome tannins add to the sense of concentration, displaying balance on the finish. Drink now through 2025.
94 Points
MaryAnn Worobiec - Wine Spectator

There’s a lot to love about this wine: its calm modesty, assured sense of purpose, and long, steady procession of flavours. The elastic palate stretches and shifts through rich savoury notes over a measured meld of sweet berries. If you regard Shiraz as being too much a playful puppy, then this represents a more docile, loyal companion. It’s a comforting wine; reliable and secure. A slowly bowed cello rather than a shrill violin. An evocative slow dance to a timeless ballad. Watch its allure grow with time in the cellar. Drink 2022 - 2055.
96 Points
David Sly - Decanter (July 2020)

Made with grapes from Port Lincoln, the Eden Valley, McLaren Vale and the Barossa Valley, not necessarily in that order. Matured as always in 50+ year old oak casks. 97% shiraz, 3% cabernet sauvignon. It’s been some time since I’ve sat, for an extended period of time, with a glass of young St Henri, as I’ve been able to do today. It must be a) a pleasure to make and b) a difficult wine to make. You can’t hide anything behind the usual scaffolding or make it more ‘impressive’ with artifice.
It’s a jubey, floral, perfumed wine. You could call it pretty. It’s up and about, lively, fresh, sweet fruited in a boysenberry-plum jam-and-blueberry way. Drinking it is like letting the sun burst in through a window, its rays striking at the fruit bowl. If you can imagine Maggie Beer as a 21-year-old then you can imagine the joyous, bubbly, great-to-be-around character of this wine. St Henri used to come in a plain bottle and I always liked that; at some point they started stuffing it into heavy dark glass; it used to be fashionably unfashionable, plain and adorable; now it plods like the rest of ’em. Fortunately the wine doesn’t seem to mind. You twist the top and it beams straight at you, its eyes brimming with sweet spice. You know, I don’t think this wine has yet been told that it belongs to a publicly listed company. It feels free of care. Its future is bright because of course it is. I haven’t yet swallowed a mouthful but it’s been terribly hard not to. It’s not a great wine or necessarily a great release but it’s beautiful and I don’t know what more can you ask. Drink 2021 - 2034+
94 Points
Campbell Mattinson - The Wine Front (July 2020)

The latest bottling of St. Henri, from a cool vintage, is a classic. Inky-hued, it's a deep well of flavor: plush blackberries, roasted vegtables, coffee beans, dark chocolate and a sanguine nuance. The palate is rich and mouthfilling but linear, with polished, spicy oak and fine, powerful tannins. It's a big wine that needs a major hit of protein if drinking now, but it will age beautifully for many decades to come. Drink through 2045.
96 Points
Christina Pickard - Wine Enthusiast Magazine (March 2021)

Sweetly spiced nose, juicy black-cherry fruit on the palate, then contrastingly savoury to finish – much more severe than the 2018 Bin 389 just tasted, yet entirely balanced and still with generous fruit. Should be long-lived. Drink 2020 – 2040
17.5+ / 20 Points
Richard Hemming MW - JancisRobinson.com (March 2021)