Shiraz the Wheelwright, Henschke 2021

The 2021 The Wheelwright Single Vineyard Shiraz is succulent and chalky, with dried herb and crushed rocks, blackberry, mulberry and a hint of pastrami. The fruit was grown at an elevation of 500 metres, and the vines are planted in a contour, mostly north facing. This is ultimately a spicy, red-fruited expression. There are notes of raspberry seed, shades of nori, blood and gore. It is fresh and beautiful and slinky, in its way.

Very deep, saturated colour with strong purple tints; there are intense sage and raspberry/mulberry aromas while the palate is wonderfully deep and plush with masses of fruit flavours and those dried herb nuances embrace oregano, thyme, sage and more. The wine is very full in the mouth with impressive concentration and a voluminous core of fruit sweetness allied to abundant tannins of a velvety suppleness. Gorgeous shiraz. (Vines planted by Cyril Henschke in 1968 on the Henschke centenary).

Ungrafted Shiraz planted by Cyril in 1968 at 500 m altitude in the Henschke Eden Valley Vineyard, on contours. It was trendy to plant on the contours (keyline water management, avoiding erosion and keeping the water on the property). But it makes putting the vines on a VSP quite a challenge because pulling the wires tight is a problem. They put in stretches of VSP and put a strainer in, with straight-ish lines. This wine was first made in 2015, released in 2018. Sandy loam over sandstone soils, with a bit of schist. This is acidic soil, so it’s different to the red/brown earths of Mount Edelstone and Hill of Grace. Under the sandy loam there is a prismatic clay, so the roots go quite deep, making the vines vigorous. This wine has a sweetly fruited but compact nose of focused black cherry and berry fruits, with some spicy framing. The palate has concentration and freshness, with some minty brightness and ripe but still taut red berry fruits, with good acidity. There’s a real presence and brightness to this wine: the sweet red fruits are nicely framed by some spice, and there’s a sense of energy, as well as a slight acidic brittleness on the finish. This will age effortlessly for quite a while. Don’t underestimate this wine in the Henschke line-up.

Cyril planted this vineyard in 1968, and Prue describes its training as a ‘lazy Scott Henry’, which is marvellously evocative if nothing else! This is a red-fruited, pretty and gentle wine with a stunning brightness and pristineness that shocks the senses. The soils here bring firm acidity to this wine, underpinning the plush cherry and raspberry tones, making it invigorating, exciting and alive. I am very taken by the cool elegance found here, and this is undoubtedly the most engaging and detailed Wheelwright to date. While it already looks enticing, there is no doubt that it will blossom fully if you can hold off a couple more years.