Henschke Mount Edelstone

Henschke Mount Edelstone bottle image

Wine Description

The Mount Edelstone vineyard, situated in the Eden Valley, was planted in 1912 by Ronald Angas, a descendant of George Fife Angas, who founded South Australia. Unusual for its time, it was planted solely to shiraz. The ancient 500-million-year-old soils on the vineyard are deep red-brown clay-loam to clay, resulting in low yields from over 100 year-old drygrown ungrafted centenarian vines. First bottled as a single-vineyard wine in 1952, it became recognised as one of Australia’s greatest shiraz wines.

accordion plus icons
Acclaim
“Garnet with ruby rim. Evolved and complex aromas of sweet leather and spice but under that is violet-inflected black fruit. Lightly minty, too. Deeply aromatic but not strident. Succulent, tannins still al dente, layered and complex.” — Jancis Robinson, Sep 2024
“Mount Edelstone may not garner as much fame as this historic Hill of Grace vineyard, but with ungifted vines well over 100 years old, this is a treasure in itself. 2018 was a warm, plush vintage. It’s demonstrated here via rich, layered aromas of plum cake and cherry cordial atop earthier, smokier notes like grilled beets, bay leaf and mocha. The palate is equally hearty but with balance and restraint. There’s a lovely line of acidity and a fine frame of earthy tannins. Still young, this has several decades ahead of it.”– (Cellar Selection) — Wine Enthusiast, Oct 2023
View more acclaim Arrow Right
accordion plus icons
Vineyard & Production Info
Vineyard name
Mount Edelstone Vineyard
Soil composition
Deep sandy loam over gravely medium-red clay, overlying laminated siltstone
Elevation:
1,312 feet
Year vineyard planted:
1912
First vintage of this wine:
1952
Average Vine Age:
102 years
accordion plus icons
Winemaking & Aging
Varietal composition:
100% Shiraz
Fermentation container:
Traditional open-top concrete fermentation tanks
Malolactic fermentation:
Full
Fining agent:
Vegan
Type of aging container:
Hogsheads
Type of oak:
American and French
Length of aging before bottling:
18 months
accordion plus icons
Analytical Data
pH level:
3.54
Acidity:
6.47 g/L
Alcohol:
14.5 %
accordion plus icons
Wine Production

Matured in 78% French and 22% American (22% new, 78% seasoned) hogsheads for 18 months prior to blending and bottling.

accordion plus icons
About the Vineyard

A traditionally wet winter, mild spring and excellent fruit set provided a great start to the 2015 vintage after four vintages with below average yields. Spring was dry and led into a very mild, dry summer with no disease, resulting in fruit with higher natural acidity and incredible flavour and colour concentration. A dry, warm and windy start to January, however, resulted in one of the worst bushfires in the Adelaide Hills in living memory, though well away from our Lenswood vineyards. By the end of the first week, relief came with 60-75mm of rain and a record-breaking coolest January in 11 years. With the onset of veraison at the end of January, the rain was perfectly timed for the old dry-grown vineyards, and the mild weather that followed from February through to April provided for a fairytale vintage