Henschke 2007 Henry's Seven

Amongst the current releases this is my favourite Henschke red.
These are really great tasting notes from the Henschke website. A fascinating story and unusually vintage specific.

Grape Variety :65% shiraz, 15% grenache, 11% viognier and 9% mourvèdre grapes grown in the Barossa (Barossa Valley and Eden Valley).

Technical Details Harvest Date: 23 February-17 April ,Alcohol: 15% | pH: 3.56 | Acidity: 6.7 g/L |

Maturation :Viognier co-fermented with shiraz, grenache and mourvèdre harvested separately. Matured in seasoned French hogheads for 15 months prior to blending and bottling.

Background: The shiraz, grenache, viognier, mourvèdre blend is a tribute to Henry Evans who planted the first vineyard of seven acres at Keyneton in 1853. He quickly developed a reputation for producing the best wines in the southern colony. Following Henry’s death in 1868, his widow Sarah exercised her temperance convictions by closing the winery and uprooting all the winegrapes. This blend highlights the historical introduction of southern French and Spanish varieties to South Australia in those early pioneering days and reflects the history, religion and culture of the Barossa.

Vintage Description :The 2007 vintage shaped up to be another high quality year but with significantly reduced yields in Eden Valley and average yields in the Adelaide Hills. The highly publicised drought of 2006 was reported as the worst ever. Certainly the rainfall at Eden Valley for the three months of winter at only 90mm compared to the average of 200mm was one of our driest. Despite an early winter break, rainfall during winter and spring was the worst for years in the lead-up to flowering. There was significant spring frost damage in Eden Valley, with a yield loss of 20-25%, compounded by the drought and lack of subsoil moisture with overall losses of up to 50% anticipated. Brief heat waves occurred during January; otherwise it was mild and dry. At the end of January a tropical air mass connected with a cold front to bring good rains to the agricultural areas of South Australia, with flooding up north. The 70mm rainfall fell steadily over four days, coinciding with veraison, which freshened up the vine canopy to assist with ripening the fruit for harvest. February was recorded as the hottest for 100 years, which brought the already reduced crop to an earlier ripening phase.

Wine Description :Deep crimson in colour. Lifted aromas of blackberries and bramble with floral notes. The beautifully structured palate with savoury nuances shows ripe black fruits and spice with fine tannins and a long finish.

Cellaring Potential Great vintage, drink now to 2012.

RRP: $??
Our Price: $25 per bottle by the doz

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