Wine Advisor
Henschke, Mount Edelstone Shiraz 2002
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Angus Hughson
The cool 2002 season has yielded a beautifully refined Shiraz Mount Edelstone. The tight, powerful nose of licorice, white pepper and dried florals shows lovely purity and delicacy. The palate is punchy with firm tannins and juicy acidity. Though the flavours feel just a touch understated, they lead to a finish of exceptional length. A sleeper.
Reviewed by: Erin Larkin
The 2002 Mount Edelstone Vineyard leads with mint and bay leaf, sage, blackberry and licorice. In the mouth, the wine is ripe, powerful, dense and plush, like the 2001 that came before it, and stylistically, these two wines are a departure from most of the older vintages tasted alongside this, from 1956 to 2022. There is a minty note here, akin to what I perceived in the 1996. This is the first year of the screw-cap closure. It has a pH of 3.54, 6.2 grams per liter of total acidity and 15% alcohol. According to Henschke: "Following on from the hottest summer on record, 2002 was cool and windy, with an unprecedented wet winter and spring. This impacted flowering and caused poor fruit set, leading to very little crop. Vintage was delayed by three weeks due to the unseasonably cold weather. Despite the small crop, the balance of sugar, flavor and natural acidity was excellent, and it was one of our most exceptional vintages to date."
About the Producer
Henschkes family name and reputation are now being upheld by the fifth generation, Stephen and his wife Prue. Stephen is the biochemist and winemaker and Prue is the viticulturist. Over the past 14 years, Prue`s viticultural management has breathed new life into the vineyards, which fully capitalise on some of the most remarkable old vine material in the world. Both Stephen and Prue continue to craft their white wines with a focus on purity, while their red wines have a strong focus on terroir, using traditional winemaking techniques. The highly sought-after Hill of Grace is the product of vines planted in the 1860s and is Australia's greatest single vineyard Shiraz. HIil of Grace and Mount Edelstone are arguably the two oldest single vineyard wines produced in Australia that tell the wine story of Australia. Henschke Rieslings are the finest in the Eden Valley and amongst the very best in Australia.
