The winter of 2021 brought good rainfall, refilling soil profiles, and the cool, slow start to the growing season resulted in budburst occurring two weeks later than average. An extreme hail event on 28 October decimated the young shoot growth across our vineyards in Keyneton, significantly reducing crop potential. Late flowering (late November to early December) avoided the cold and windy conditions, resulting in good fruit set, albeit with smaller yields. A burst of summer heat, without extremes, supported berry development and balanced canopy growth. Welcome rain in late January occurred just before veraison and ripening, leading into a mild and dry finish to summer. The 2022 vintage was late, with harvest dates one to two weeks later than the historical average. The resulting wines speak faithfully of their place, with elegance, distinction and enduring beauty. Reminiscent of the high-quality vintages of 1991, 1999, 2005, 2006, 2010 and 2015, the 2022 single-vineyard wines show wonderful ageing potential and will reward long-term cellaring under ideal conditions.
The beautiful and historic name Mount Edelstone is a translation from the German Edelstein meaning ‘gemstone’, a reference to the small yellow opals once found in the area. The Mount Edelstone Vineyard was planted in 1912 by Ronald Angas, a descendant of George Fife Angas who founded The South Australian Company and played a significant role in the formation and establishment of South Australia. Unusual for its time, the vineyard was planted solely to shiraz. The ancient 500-million-year-old geology in the vineyard has given rise to soils that are deep red-brown clay-loam to clay, resulting in low yields from the dry-grown, ungrafted centenarian vines. The wine was first bottled as a single-vineyard shiraz in 1952 by fourth-generation Cyril Henschke. By the time Cyril purchased the vineyard from Colin Angas in 1974, Mount Edelstone was already well entrenched as one of Australia’s greatest shiraz wines. Crafted by the Henschke family for over 65 years now, Mount Edelstone is arguably the longest consecutively-produced, single-vineyard wine in Australia.
Varieties: 100% Shiraz
Harvest Date: 31 March – 12 April
Alcohol: 14.5%
Vintage Rating: Exceptional vintage
Maturation: Matured in 8% new and 92% seasoned French oak hogsheads for 20 months prior to blending and bottling.
Cellaring Potential: 30+ years (from vintage)
