Minor Label Damage, Base of Neck

Awards, Ratings & Reviews

94/100 — Jeremy Oliver · 1988 Vintage · Tasted: Jan 2003

91/100 — CellarTracker · 1988 Vintage

About This Wine

The beautiful and historic name Mount Edelstone is a translation from the German Edelstein meaning ‘gemstone’, a reference to small yellow opals once found in the area.

The Mount Edelstone vineyard was planted in 1912 by Ronald Angas, a descendant of George Fife Angas who founded The South Australian Company and played a significant part in the formation and establishment of South Australia. Unusual for its time, the vineyard was planted solely to shiraz.

The ancient 500-million-year-old geology in the vineyard has given rise to soils that are deep red-brown clay-loam to clay, resulting in low yields from the dry-grown, ungrafted centenarian vines. First bottled as a single-vineyard wine in 1952 by fourth-generation Cyril Henschke; by the time Cyril purchased the vineyard from Colin Angas in 1974, Mount Edelstone was already well entrenched as one of Australia’s greatest shiraz wines.

The 1988 vintage proved to be a particularly eventful year with excellent winter rains, hail damage in spring, rains during flowering and a very hot summer. Despite a roller-coaster of weather events the 1988 vintage in Eden Valley produced excellent quality fruit with concentrated flavours.

Producer Notes

Deep crimson with brick red hues. A bouquet of lifted spicy plums, prunes and anise with a hint of chocolate and mint. The palate is rich and concentrated with layers of sweet, ripe plum and berry fruits entwined with savoury, earthy notes; complex fine-grained tannins providing texture, balance and length for a soft, lingering finish.

Specifications

• Vintage: 1988
• Grape Variety: 100% Shiraz
• Region: Eden Valley / Barossa / South Australia / Australia
• Maturation: Matured in 80% French and 20% American (19% new, 81% seasoned) hogsheads for 18 months prior to blending and bottling
• Production Attributes: 100% 101 year-old single-vineyard shiraz grown in the Mount Edelstone vineyard in the Eden Valley wine region, using organic and biodynamic practices
• Vineyard / Geo info: Mount Edelstone vineyard, Eden Valley
• Alcohol: 13.5%
• Acidity TA: 5.6 g/L
• Acidity pH: 3.56
• Sweetness: Dry
• Winemaker / Ownership: Henschke familie
• Closure: Cork or screwcap