Penfolds Shiraz St. Henri 2013

St Henri's story actually predates Grange and traces back to 1888, when Auldana Cellars — a vineyard and winery near Penfolds' own Magill Estate — first produced "Auldana Cellars St Henri Claret," likely named after winemaker Léon Edmond Mazure's son Henri or his wife Philomine Henriette. Penfolds acquired the Auldana property in 1944, and winemaker John Davoren recreated the original style, aiming for a wine built on fruit and maturation character rather than oak — the opposite philosophy to what Max Schubert was simultaneously developing for Grange using new French oak. The 1957 vintage is officially recognised as the first commercial release under the Penfolds name (the wine was labelled "Claret" right up until 1989), and it's remained Penfolds' deliberate counterpoint to Grange ever since: 100% Shiraz, matured entirely in large, seasoned oak vats — some over fifty years old — for twelve months, imparting virtually no oak character at all. The fruit is drawn from a shifting blend of South Australia's cooler regions each vintage — McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley, Padthaway, Clare Valley, Adelaide Hills, and the Eyre Peninsula among them.

The result is rich and plush on release, gradually developing soft, earthy, mocha-like characters with age — a style that fell somewhat out of fashion through the new-oak-obsessed decades of the late 20th century before gaining a genuine renaissance in the 1990s as drinkers rediscovered its understated complexity. Expect peppery, meaty, and earthy notes wrapped around cassis, mulberry, and warm plum, with cinnamon spice and velvety black fruit carrying through a long, savoury finish — James Halliday has scored recent vintages as high as 97 points.