Dinner last night at a friend's place in New Fairfield. Mike's also a big fan of cooler climate Aussies, so both of us opened a bottle of Henschke. He and his wife prepared slow cooked lamb shanks with orzo, delicious food that went very well with the wines, although an extra bottle of Clio that he opened afterwards was truly awful (I managed four sips, wincing in pain each time; he barely managed a glass before sticking the bottle in the fridge with hope that it might turn into something drinkable eventually).
We started out with a 2002 Marc Hebrart Champagne Special Club.
Intense toasty and yeasty aromas on the nose over softer pear and white fruited flavours. Generous white fruit flavours in the mouth with toast, nutty and chalky notes underneath, but this feels a little soft and flabby without as much acidity as I'd like. Creamy, medium length finish. Nice, but not particularly exciting or interesting.
With the lamb we had a 1995 Henschke Shiraz Mount Edelstone and a 2002 Henschke Cabernet Sauvignon Cyril Henschke, both of which had been opened and decanted a couple of hours in advance and were absolutely stunning in very different ways. The Edelstone immediately had us thinking of Burgundy with its beautiful clear dark ruby colour, and an amazing nose that kept evolving and gaining complexity with time showing sandalwood, leather, eucalyptus, red fruits, spices and a very faint barnyard element. Gentle and medium bodied on the palate with a silky texture, fully resolved tannins and bright acidity beneath more red fruited flavours, anise and leather.
The Cyril Henschke had significantly more weight and concentration than the Edelstone but with the same elegance and refinement. Incredibly young, but already drinking beautifully and a really tremendous wine. Beautiful dark fruited and cassis flavours over softer notes of violets, herbs, leather and eucalyptus with an amazing mouthfeel that manages to show both incredible power and a silky, polished elegance at the same time. An incredibly long finish that stays with you a good while never giving any indication of the 14.5% alcohol here. Absolutely stunning.
And then we finished with a 2005 El Nido Clio that pretty much finished off our palates for the night as well. This just beats you over the head with its oak. Monolithic, brutal and boring with a ton of vanilla, wood, toast, blueberries and more oak across the nose and palate and a bitter, abrasive finish that leaves the impression of wood chips being ground into one's tongue. If there's anything positive to say about this, it's that the alcoholic heat on the back end isn't all that offensive compared to the oak assault. Ugh.
