Henschke - A Family Day Out

I have been mulling over a title for this piece whilst writing, but hopefully the title will become obvious as you read through.

A couple of weeks back I stumbled upon the wonderful opportunity to represent Exel Wines and be one of the select few to attend a masterclass and lunch at the beautiful location of Prestonfield House.  This was an opportunity too good for me to miss - a tasting through a selection of the ever delightful offerings from Stephen and Prue Henschke.  Starting the morning off with a trundle on the train to Edinburgh followed by a brisk 35 minute walk out of town to the tranquil and sublime settings of Prestonfield House.  If ever in Edinburgh I would recommend a visit, if nothing else just to soak in this stunning location!

Prestonfield's Sublime Setting

This was one of those tastings where you could feel a real excitement and sense of privilege in the room.  The Henschke name has become so iconic these days that getting such an intimate audience is a genuinely special thing (especially North of the Border).

I could describe this small scale family vineyard turned wine-making legend at great length, introducing the six generations of family that have cared for the 100 hectares of land, the vines and wines they produce and the painstaking dedication that goes into every facet of what they do from vine selection to the biodynamic and organic principles that has become a cornerstone of the vineyard.  But instead, I thought a brief poem summed it up perfectly.



And thus onto the wines, eight in total made for a perfect treat.  An opportunity to taste a real variety of what the Henschke legacy, or perhaps rather their land can produce.

The Master Class Line Up

1. First up was probably my favourite.  I love a real surprise in my wine and the Julius Riesling 2013 did just that.  When I hear the word Riesling I usual cross the street as I am genuinely not a big fan at all of the grape variety, or at least not of the ones I have personally tried.  However, there were no hints of petroleum here just crisp, citrus fruits, a vibrancy that seemed alive and a wonderful minerality.  This also accompanied a duck pate later for lunch, and whilst the pairing worked well I could not help but feel that the food was almost distracting me from enjoying the flavours of this wine.  Oh, and this is from the wine that is from vines that are "only" 40'ish years old! £20.80 per bottle
2. Next up was (cover your ears if you are a member of the A.B.C. crowd) a Chardonnay.  It is no secret that Australia makes a mean Chardonnay, so much so that the effect has almost come full circle going through it's heyday when nobody drank anything else, to a period where no one dared go near it, to today when one is usually willing to give it a whirl so long as it is certified 100% as unoaked.  Well, Henschke might have an oaked Chardonnay that will tempt you back in to that world in the form of the Lenswood Croft Vineyard Chardonnay 2012.  There is a strong Germanic influence in this wine owing to the regions cooler climate, the oak is definitely but I have to say, I have never tasted anything so balanced.  The minerality and fruits just shone through, enough so to let your mind forget about the oak and allow it to just enjoy itself. £29.30
3. At wine 3 we moved over to the reds, starting off with the "entry" wine of Henry's Seven 2012.  Younger clones from the Hill of Grace Vines, this features just under 70% Shiraz balanced and turbo-charged with (Spanish origin) Grenache (Spanish-Garnacha), Mourvedre (Spanish-Garnacha) and Viognier (Spanish-Mataro).  This is a wonderful example of complexity in a glass, and a wine that seems desperate to prove itself amongst its Henschke peers.  The Viognier lends a real lusciousness and structure.  Most of the grapes are fermented separately and blended at the end, but the Shiraz and Viognier at Henschke are co-fermented together. £21.76
4. Keyneton Euphonium 2010 was the next up. A blend of Shiraz, Cabernet and Merlot from 50 year old vines.  The surprise in this wine was the more delicate mouthfeel and increased overall finesse.  Given the blend, I would have expected a fuller richer style, but I was please to see the restraint in the overall body. This wine was paired up with a lovely beef rump with béarnaise and wild mushrooms at lunch. £26.90

At this point there was a brief interlude for some very appropriate wine enthusiast 'geek type' chat. Covering mostly corks, stelvins, glass vino-lock and relative oxygen transfer rates, I think it says a lot about me to say that I rather enjoyed this part!

Enjoying some Henschke "Geek Chat!"

     5.  Of the reds, perhaps the big surprise came from the Cyril Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 (technically there is a small percentage of Cab Franc and Merlot too, but who's counting).  With 18 months in largely new French oak I had expected a fair punch from this wine, but again I was left in awe of the elegance and finesse.  Now, I am not saying that there is a lack of flavour at all.  The depth is there, and so too is the richness, really the main difference is a softer more pleasant tannin.  I really love this wine. £81.95
     6.  Moving on to the first 100% Shiraz, and doing so with style in the form of the Mount Edelstone 2010.  100 Year old vines (well in 2010 they were only 98 years to be exact!), and the first wine where Stephen and Prue's dedication to Organic and Biodynamic farming comes into its own.  It is a real pleasure to listen to the obvious joy and passion they both have from getting the most out of nature that they can in such a natural way.  The dedication is obvious.  This is a wine where we start to get in to a preference for 24+ hour decanting to really let the wine develop.  This has a lovely pepper, mixed with a lemon balm kind of nose that gives way to a wildly distinctive taste that softens down wonderfully even after the 20 minutes. I had to continually swirl my glass in an effort to get close to the recommended aeration time! £73.24
     7.  (And number 8.) The icon that is the Hill of Grace, apparently it is actually a valley - honestly aussies!  Well, today's big treat was the opportunity not to just try one vintage of this wine, but two vintages side-by-side.  I always recommend trying related wines side-by-side whenever possible, it just adds a new dimension and accentuates characteristics, traits and subtleties that may otherwise go undetected.  First up was the 2007, where there was more than just a hint of the softness of the earlier Cabernet about this vintage and something that really appealed to me.  I guess the best description I could come up with would be a Bordeaux-Burgundy or a really powerful Burgundy.  The 2008 was, by contrast, more intense due to a warmer growing season.  The nose was spicier and more peppery (apparently the pepper hints come from a compound called "rotundone" which is actually found in pepper, amongst other things, so it is not just the Jilly Goolden in me coming out!) At around £295 a bottle this is not your everyday kitchen wine rack sort of bottle so the opportunity to try one of the world's finest wines was really very much appreciated.

What a Choice!

Sorry not quite finished yet. As lunch was finished off with a nice cheese selection and an exceptional Pinot Noir, in the Giles Pinot Noir 2008.  At the end of such an array of big wines, big flavours it was a delight to see a personal favourite variety (so long as it is done well) able to hold its own and shown off some incredible depth of fruits and integrated oak. £29.62

Finishing the day off with a divine lunch.