Description
TASTING NOTES
Colour: Brilliant violet with ruby hues.
Aroma: Intense florals, plum and lush red and blue fruits.
Palate: Ripe red fruits at the fore, coupled with subtle spice and pepper. Distinct Mothervine Pinot Noir adds freshness and depth to the mid palate, ending with a gentle, juicy finish. Complex, yet approachable.
PEAK DRINKING: 2021 – 2035
FOOD MATCH: Eggplant Parmigiana
STORY
A master blender and visionary winemaker, Maurice O’Shea often blended Shiraz with Pinot Noir and other varieties. In pride of place was a string of 1940s releases named in honour of his great friend and supporter Henri Renault. The Mount Henry was created with a focus on elegance and subtlety rather than sheer power. The 2018 vintage is 80% Shiraz from the 1946 plantings on Rosehill, and 20% Mothervine Pinot Noir from the Estate, planted in 1921.
2018 VINTAGE
Little rainfall and a warm winter resulted in early bud burst for the region. The region recorded lower than average rainfall throughout the growing season resulting in an early vintage. Fruit quality was high with no disease pressure. With crops being slightly lower than average, harvest was around 8 days earlier than normal, with pristine fruit showing great intensity.
VINIFICATION
The Mount Henry was created with a focus on elegance and subtlety rather than sheer power. The 2018 vintage is 80% Shiraz from the 1946 plantings on Rosehill, and 20% Mothervine Pinot Noir from the Estate, planted in 1921.
WINEMAKER: Adrian Sparks
PROFESSIONAL REVIEWS
- 2021 Mount Henry Shiraz Pinot 94 points – 2024 Halliday Wine Companion Scores (All wines reviews by James Halliday)
Created by Maurice O’Shea in 1944; the precision of the year is interesting. The two varieties were separately vinified: both were cold soaked for five days, the dominant shiraz with cultured yeast, the pinot noir wild fermented. The pinot finished its fermentation in new French puncheons, the shiraz tank fermented and the components blended after seven months. The shiraz is all-seeing, the pinot noir demurely peeping through the depth of the tannins and oak. It’s still to settle down, but will slowly reveal its origins.
- 95 points – Campbell Mattinson
2021 Halliday Wine Companion
- 94 points – Gary Walsh
The Wine Front
- 91 points – Huon Hooke
The Real Review
