Penfolds St Henri Shiraz 2011 750ml

Wine Advocate #215, Oct 31, 2014, by Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Made with fruit sourced from McLaren Vale, Barossa and Adelaide Hills and aged 12 months in large, old oak barrels, the deep garnet-purple colored 2011 St. Henri Shiraz puts forward quite a peppery, meaty and earthy nose enveloping a good core of fresh cassis, mulberries and warm plums plus a touch of cinnamon. A little earthy, lean and woody in the mouth and framed by medium levels of chewy tannin, it is still tight though finishes long. This was a tough vintage compared to 2010 and it shows in this wine.

With over 165 years of winemaking experience, the Penfolds winemaking tradition is both firmly established and well proven. It is a way of life; no more evident than in the fact that most members of the winemaking team have worked over twenty vintages each at Penfolds.
Experience has created a tradition of excellence, which in turn has led to the production of quality Australian wines, recognised the world over.
Penfolds has managed to create a truly unique and distinctive winemaking signature the Penfolds stamp, of which every member of the Penfolds winemaking team is immensely and justifiably proud.
St Henri is a time-honoured and 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. It was created in the early 1950s and gained a new lease of life in the 1990s as its quality and distinctive style became better understood. St Henri is rich and plush when young, gaining soft, earthy, mocha-like characters as it ages. It is matured in old, 1460 litre vats that allow the wine to develop, imparting minimal, if any oak character. Although a small proportion of Cabernet is sometimes used to improve structure, the focal point for St Henri remains Shiraz.

Meats, Beef and Venison