Henschke single-vineyard wines: A Decanter Fine Wine Encounter Masterclass

From a cool, north-facing vineyard at 470m first planted in 1969 by Johann Henschke's grandfather Cyril then replanted in 1998 by his parents. The vineyard makeup, which includes Cabernet Franc and some Merlot, means there's the potential to make a classic Left Bank Bordeaux, but exceptional quality of Cabernet Sauvignon in 2021 – fully ripe and beautifully expressive – warranted its 99% inclusion. The 1% Merlot, Johann explains, adds a plushness that you'd notice if it wasn't there. Vibrant, inky blackcurrant, black cherry and sloes, with a lifted menthol note of dried sage and mint. Complex and elegant but so approachable thanks to that pleasurable softness, yet still with the structure from fine tannins and bright acidity to see it continue to hold shape and balance for decades yet.

Planted in 1968, a century after Johann Christian Henschke released his first wines, this was fourth-generation Cyril Henschke's foray further down into the Eden Valley. Johann explained the high-altitude, north-facing contoured vineyard frustrated his grandfather, who tried until the early 2000s to make a wine from that it he was happy to release. But since the vines turned 50 years old in 2018, they have really started to express themselves, through consistent fruit quality and super-fine tannins. A more delicate, Pinot-esque side of Shiraz, that showcases both the Eden Valley character as well as the vineyard: blueberries, raspberries, blood plums and violets with bth a graceful stoney mineral quality and a mellow chocolate-orange note.

Impressive, expressive and intense, this is a brilliant vintage of what is Australia's longest consecutively produced single-site wine (since 1952), from a vineyard planted in 1912. The heady aroma leaps from the glass: captivating lifted brambles, dark plums, sagebrush, bay leaf and earthy spices, which continue on the opulent palate, showing the the depth and character of those old-vines. Supporting the impressive fruit richness are dense, mocha-like velvety tannins, musky oak notes, and a cool, slatey acidity that gives freshness alongside a tingling, lingering pepperiness. It's already disturbingly delicious, but needs two decades at least to show what it's truly capable of.

Named for the yellow opals once found in the red clay loam soils of this area, Mount Edelstone is always rich and complex – more earthy and musky in spice compared to the sweeter baking spice notes of Hill of Grace. At 10 years old, this vintage is entering an interesting phase, the hallmark aromas and flavours of plum, blackberry, pepper, bay and sage evolving and taking on more savoury secondary and tertiary notes, like black olive tapenade and dark fruitcake. The vines were 103 years old in 2015 and that complexity and intensity of character is asserting itself, and the velvety tannins becoming more silky, melting into the opulent fruit.

At 20 years from vintage – when the dry-grown Shiraz vines in the Mount Edelstone vineyard were 'just' 94 years old – this 2005 is blooming, says Johann Henschke, the sixth-generation winemaker of his family's estate. It still showcases the trademark herbal character of this single site, alongside the concentrated fruit core, but is now slipping into a silkier, more savoury phase as the wine matures. Notes of smoked meat, sweet leather, mocha and those earthy, peppery spices join rich damsons and mulberries on the supple palate, with a balsamic cherry and menthol lift adding great freshness alongside the silky tannins.

I was lucky enough to taste the Henschke single-vineyard releases from the heralded 2018 vintage, which Johann's father Stephen Henschke called 'the standout vintage of the decade'. Is the 2021 already the standout of this decade? Time will tell, but it's another latent rippling, muscular beauty, already teasing us with the further complexity and elegance still to come. Opulent, heady perfume of blue forest fruits, blood plums and raspberries – amazing fruit purity and vibrancy – joined by lifted florals, black pepper, incense and sweet baking spices. The tannins are firm but superfine, the oak present but not obtrusive, and the finish almost endless, with lingering pepper zip and wet stone freshness. Unlike the 2021 Mount Edelstone, this isn't anywhere near ready to broach, but give it a few years (better yet a few decades) to see it fulfil that potential.

With 10 years of bottle age, this 2015 is just starting on its journey from a primary fruit spectrum into more secondary characters, perhaps a little less seductively expressive than the 2021 in the glass but no less complex. It is perhaps at this stage of maturity when the vineyard character – particularly the spice – between Mount Edelstone and Hill of Grace is the most evident: the former more warm, earthy and musky; the latter with sweeter baking spice and incense notes. Here, gorgeous suede-like tannins support rich forest fruits and dark plums, smoked meat, dried garrigue herbs, exotic black tea leaves, liquorice and cigar box. Incredibly layered and promising so much more. The vineyard (and wine) takes it name from the Gnadenberg Lutheran church which stands opposite, itself named for the region in Silesia from which Johann Christian Henschke emigrated in 1841.

It's a real treat to be able to taste Australia's most famous single-vineyard wine, whose oldest contributing patch, the 0.56ha Grandfathers block, was planted more than 160 years ago. And even more of a treat to taste it when it is just entering it's first phase of tertiary maturity. At 20 years since vintage, the impact of the old vines on both flavour and texture is really becoming evident. Earthy, stony freshness and beautifully expressive – intense but elegant – where sleek satiny tannins glide across a seemingly endless array of flavours: mulled wine spices, undergrowth, plums, blood orange, wild raspberries, exotic incense, smoked meat, burnished leather and pot pourri. Has many years left, though at a lovely drinking point now.