Penfolds St Henri 2006

March 26, 2017

Let’s check in to see how this Penfolds St Henri looks now.

Surprisingly sullen. There’s still that easy plum fruit, with a dusty edge and fruit that expands through the palate. Despite that width, this ultimately feels oddly mid-weight – as if this is St Henri lite. You’d even call it elegant, if subdued. Given my memories of this as a younger wine, I’m picking it as ‘in a hole’, but curious to see whether this is just an oddly backward bottle. It certainly wasn’t faulty.

Good, not great. Best drinking: Wait 3-4 years. 17.5/20, 91/100+. 14.5%. Would I buy it? Not at the moment.

2006, Penfolds, Shiraz, South Australia

Andrew Graham was once voted the 23rd most trusted wine critic on the planet. A WCA Journalism Young Gun now old hack with 25yrs as a buyer, judge, journalist, marketer and too much more.

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4 responses to “Penfolds St Henri 2006”

Shamus

March 27, 2017 at 12:39 am

What about day 2 ?

Reply
1. Andrew Graham
  
  March 27, 2017 at 9:46 am
  
  The bottle didn’t last until Day 2 with this (was in a group). I looked at it over about 3hrs and it didn’t change much.
  
  Reply
Tony Titheridge

March 27, 2017 at 2:05 pm

“Surprisingly” sullen?

Historically, once the most enjoyable aspect of primary moves on in St Henri, the wines always remain very medium and subdued until approaching 15-20 years old or more.

Your tasting note reflects EXACTLY how I’d expect a decent 10yo vintage of St Henri to look.

Reply
1. Andrew Graham
  
  March 27, 2017 at 3:02 pm
  
  True, perhaps, but the ’04 is a much more expressive beast.
  
  Reply