Review Penfolds St Henri Shiraz 1998

89 points

From Barossa Valley (mainly) South Australia.

In 1957 Penfolds created this wine. Long considered on par with their Grange but in a totally different style. An elegant wine, with little oak flavour (only old oak influence).

1998 was a very good vintage for this now pretty unfashionable wine - it sells for an eighth the price of Grange and there is no way you can easily obtain a 1998 Grange retail anymore. I can see why it is unfashionable, it has the flavours of very good, if old fashioned, Barossa Shiraz but it is subtle and elegant, hiding its 14% alcohol very well. This wine is easily overshadowed by today's blockbusters.

Currently the wine is without much of the characters of age, it is a most enjoyable drink but lacks some excitment. I'd suggest waiting for a couple more years, it should live for a long time.