1996 Henschke Mount Edelstone Eden Valley Barossa Shiraz

1996 Henschke Mount Edelstone Eden Valley Barossa Shiraz

I have to confess I thought apart from Penfolds Grange Shiraz, there wasn’t any great producer of Shiraz from Australia, till I had a bottle of this Henschke. I was overwhelmingly impressed with the content. As a comparison, I thought even the French counterparts like some Cote Rotie producers was not able to produce such quality Syrah. The nose was ultra smoky, and later blended in heavy Chinese herbs, especially Loquat. The body initially was horribly rough, but with proper decanting for about half an hour, the rough edges were totally gone, replaced by superbly done soft and mellow body. This was high quality Shiraz, those people who criticize new world wines maybe in for trouble, this would be what Ridge Monte Bello from Santa Cruz mountain has done to Cabernet Sauvignon in USA. I really would like to host a blind tasting of old world French versus a new world Australian shiraz one day!