The Eden Valley’s Henschke family is best known for its red wines but the whites were the biggest surprise when I met up with owners Prue and Stephen last week.
The couple’s icon wine, Hill of Grace, and its Mount Edelstone (both 100% Shiraz from 90 year old plus vines) usually take the headlines. Yes, they were both fabulous wines – but with all the hype surrounding them, you’d expect that.
Its 2006 Eden Valley Riesling a.k.a Julius and 2007 Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc ‘Coralinga’ were deeee-licious. Both were very European in style – delicate and restrained – with fresh acidity and a very reasonable 12.5% alcohol.
It would have been difficult to guess where they were from – and Australia wouldn’t immediately spring to mind. I asked others where they would have placed the Sauvignon Blanc if they’d tasted it blind – Observer columnist Tim Atkin MW suggested northern Italy while Decanter’s Tina Gellie said Austria.
Its noble rot Riesling was also delicious with just 11% alcohol and zesty acidity, making an unusually refreshing sweetie.
Biodynamic bits
Next year, Prue and Stephen should get their organic certification. They are also working biodynamically but I’m not convinced by some of its tenets, so I ask viticulturalist Prue: isn’t it a load of mumbo-jumbo? Her response? “It’s the best-ever composting system created.†In her view, biodynamics is mainly about improving the organic matter of the soil with the compost she makes using cow manure, grape skins and green waste. She also uses biodynamic preparations but admits she isn’t sure what they do – but it works. So, forget the lunar phases, it’s all about what comes out the rear end of a cow!
Screwcap and the next big thing…
In 2002, Stephen put the Hill of Grace under screwcap. An icon red wine under screwcap? Few would be so brave. Stephen said: “We are convinced by screwcap and we could not justify putting a wine under cork when you have so much product recall. When you have Hill of Grace the complaint situation is really serious because it is a treasure. But I admit screwcap isn’t pretty.â€
Unlike many producers, Stephen is not convinced screwcap is the be-all and end-all of closures. I get the impression that many Kiwi and Aussie producers have converted to screwcap and see it as the ultimate closure. However, Henschke trialled its 2004 Henry’s Seven under glass closure Vino Lok for the first time. Its 2005 Hill of Roses and 2005 Tappa Pass Shiraz have since been sealed under Vino Lok. Unfortunately the Vino Lok is prohibitively expensive and at the London Wine Fair, the Vino Lok team admitted it would always be a premium closure. I mention this to Stephen, who agrees but argues if enough Aussie producers adopted it, economy of scale would bring down those prices.
