It sure is the fastest selling St Henri ever
As we reported last week, the humble St Henri 2010 stole the show at the Penfolds Icon and Luxury Release 2014. Punters were well prepared because the rave reviews had been published a couple of months earlier when Penfolds released the 2014 bin range. It therefore came as no surprise that they swooped like locusts on retailers’ stocks of St Henri on May 1. It was all gone by the afternoon.
Since then some retailers have managed to find more stock so, if you missed out in the first round, you can still get your hands on some of this wine here:
- Sixty Darling Street – $78 – 02 9818 3077
- Wineonline – $88
- Winestar – $90
- Nicks / Vintage Direct – $90
For your convenience, we’ve listed the main reviews of the St Henri 2010 below.
Our take on the wine, after sharing a bottle among four of us, is this:
A profound red with loads of red fruit and spices. Everything from the nose to the palate to the finish is bursting with energy and promise, revealing more as you come back for another nose and another sip. Christmas pudding and Schwarzwaelder Kirschtorte, and dark chocolate with rum and raisins thrown in. A tour de force, held perfectly tight by fine acid and firm tannins. Great balance.
When I asked them for a score, my mates played safe with 93 – 94 points. Reg said he’d had better reds. I’m not a lover of big Shiraz from South Australia but I’ll give this 96+. It could be 10 -20 years before it gets to 97 or 98, but I think it’s more forward than St Henris of old. Calling it the best St Henri ever is meaningless, because the 2010 is a very different style from that of the sixties.
Andrew said he wouldn’t pay $80 for it, and I agree. $80 buys a lot of good wine as readers of this website know. Two bottles of Woodlands Margaret Cabernet, almost 3 of Xanadu Cabernet or Mountadam Chardonnay, 4 bottles of Frogmore Creek Riesling and almost 5 of Pepperjack Shiraz. Enough said, over to the experts:
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If you buy no other Penfolds this release, don’t miss St Henri. It’s as if the 2010 season was perfectly orchestrated for this large format, old oak style. A celebration of this great vintage, this is one of the finest under this label of the modern era, perhaps ever. The epitome of the St Henri style, effortless and elegant, with epic purity and definition, deep and full, yet in not way heavy or overbearing.
Wonderfully crunchy and impeccable blackberry, blueberry and plum fruit is accented with notes of liquorice and dark chocolate, presented in a framework of beautifully crafted, finely honed tannins and excellent acid profile. It has space and grace, while lacking nothing in presence and structure, propagating with line and length nothing short of breathtaking. Wow. The price hasn’t moved in three years, and long may it stay this way. 100% shiraz from the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Coonawarra, Adelaide Hills, Wrattonbully and Clare Valley, matured for 12 months in old, large 1460L vats. Drink: 2020-2040. 97 points – Tyson Stelzer
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2010 St Henri is the big story of these 2014 reds. St Henri is the one Penfolds super premium we all should be following. This 2010 release is the best since the 2004. In short, it’s gorgeous. I’m tempted to use the words Beg, Borrow or Steal. Nose, palate, tannin, finish; all are in full, healthy voice. Licorice, leather, plum, clove. Fine-grained tannin. Juicy orange-peel notes. Well stored, under screwcap, it will live for just about ever. 96+ points. Campbell Mattinson, Winefront
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Very deep purple-black in color and showing an attractive nose of warm blackcurrants, blueberries and licorice with a complex undercurrent of mocha, cedar, menthol and grilled meat, the full-bodied 2010 St Henri Shiraz is relatively rich in the mouth, offering tons of fruit structured by firm, fine tannins and refreshing acid. It finishes with great persistence. Drink it 2015 to 2030+ – 97+ points, Lisa Perotti-Brown, Wine Advocate.
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‘For me, this is the finest young [red] I have ever tasted. It is phenomenal in every way. I cannot imagine how it could be bettered … The clarity of message from start to finish is arresting … wistful spice and heavenly floral notes … majestic drive and intensity of fruit. The tannins are awesome … Dense damson and blueberry notes cavort – the whole experience is almost transcendental. Epic and thrilling I couldn’t spit it out. I couldn’t whiplash it out of my mouth even if I was crashed into at speed while waiting for a red light to change. Weirdly it wasn’t swallowed either – it was subsumed into my soul. 20++ (100++).’ Matthew Jukes,
The finest vintage under this label since it was first released during the 1950s.The 2010 St Henri stands as the triumph of this year’s Penfolds luxury release. The wine is amazingly expressive with deep colour, superb fruit complexity, voluminous richness and supple textures. Dark chocolate, dark cherry, blackberry, mocha, roasted chestnut aromas are followed by a richly concentrated palate full of dark chocolate, paneforte flavours, generous sweet fruit notes and ripe loose-knit chocolaty tannins. It finishes graphite firm, long, and minerally. A gorgeous wine with all the hallmarks of long term ageing potential. Rating: 100 Points; Andrew Caillard MW
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A multi-regional, 100% knockout SA shiraz that excites at every step, the aromas saturating the nose high and low with ripe, vibrant black fruits then carrying forward with wilder, redder fruits hitting top notes as well, the texture engaging and timelessly contemporary. Stunning wine that will delight for decades. 99/100 points. Tony Love
Kim