Winter 2004, Wine & Spirits Special Issue - Annual Buying Guide
Last year, Prue and Stephen Henschke earned their place as a “Winery of the Year” with the release of the ’98 Hill of Grace, their most famous shiraz. This year, the award comes not only for a great shiraz, but it’s also driven by a range of ’02 white wines from their vineyards on the ridge that runs south from Eden Valley down to the Adelaide Hills. And what’s unusual about those whites is that they’ve all been released under screw-cap Stelvin closures.
It might seem surprising that a family winery with nearly 150 years of history would drop traditional cork and help lead the movement for screw-caps. But this is the New World, where a family can focus attention on nursing a meager crop from ancient vines while running trials to learn how that fruit ages under Stelvin. The trials they’ve run for more than a decade on their aromatic whites have proven that Stelvin is the best choice. And their ’02 Julius Riesling shows the wisdom behind that choice. The flavors are lucid and clean, giving the impression of the fresh, late picked autumn apples and the wine opens with air. Julius remains one of the glories of Australian riesling, and it ages well. Particularly under screw-cap.
The ’02 Louis Semillon is another great Eden Valley white under Stelvin. Here the seal traps wildflower honey scents in the bottle, along with concentrated lemon flavor that should grow complex over the next ten years. These white wines show off one side of the Henschkes' talents – Prue’s scientifically precise commitment to sustainable viticulture, Stephen’s post-modern cellar techniques, bringing elaborate scientific experiments to bear on traditional winemaking. The red side of the Henschkes' talents show in the ’01 Mount Edelstone, where they’ve trained 90-year-old, dry grown vines to produce a seamless wine. Its harmonies of cool, dark fruit play out from balanced ripeness in the grapes, achieved by Prue, preserved by Stephen.