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.

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.

St Henri is a time-honoured, alternative expression of Shiraz, and an intriguing counterpoint to Grange. It is unusual among high-quality Australian red wines as it does not rely on any new oak. Released for the first time by Penfolds in the early 1950s (first commercial vintage 1957), it gained a new lease of life in the 1990s as its quality and distinctive style became better understood. Proudly, a wine style that hasn’t succumbed to the dictates of fashion or commerce. St Henri is rich and plush when young, gaining soft, earthy, mocha-like characters with age. It is matured in an assortment of old large vats that allow the wine to develop, imparting minimal, if any oak character. Although a small proportion of Cabernet may sneak into the blend, the focal point for St Henri remains Shiraz. 97% Shiraz, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon . Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Eden Valley and Port Lincoln (well west of Adelaide) fruit. TA 6.6 g/l, pH 3.63. Aged for 12 months in vats aged 50+ years. South Australia’s wine regions experienced a cool and mostly wet winter and spring, which provided the vines with plentiful soil-moisture profiles. Longstanding rainfall records were broken across South Australia, with some regions experiencing minor flooding. The dams in Eden Valley were full by the end of winter. October was windy, which challenged fruit set, however winds warded off any potential frost events in the Barossa Valley vineyards. Cool conditions extended the growing season, with flowering and veraison both later than expected. No heatwaves were recorded during summer and only a handful of days surpassed 40 °C. Warmer weather in March was welcomed, allowing grapes to finish ripening, develop deep colour and varietal character. Harvest for Shiraz grapes did not begin until mid March, a month later than the previous year. Dark purplish crimson. Pure, intense, Australian, silky saline Shiraz on the nose. Already smooth and approachable. Tarry finish but not aggressively chewy. Hint of molasses on the (dry) finish. This is my style of Oz Shiraz with finely polished edges. The cool vintage doesn't seem to have left any unpleasant traces – but I suppose there was extremely strict selection. (JR)

Restrained nose with quite a spirity, heady palate. Black-cherry fruit with chalky tannins that are more astringent than those of the Bin 28 Kalimna 2018. Savoury, dark and austere, leaving a fiery finish. A bit too stylistically backward for me, though the quality of the fruit isn't in doubt. (RH)