Henty Estate Shiraz 2006
Intense crimson; while only medium-bodied in weight, is packed full of beautifully ripe, lip-smacking spicy black fruits, the tannins and new French oak seamlessly interwoven. What a wine. 96 points, drink to 2026, $22, Screwcap James Halliday
Peter and Glenys Dixon have hastened slowly with Henty Estate. In 1991 they began the planting of 4.5 ha of shiraz, 1 ha each of cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay, and 0.5 ha of riesling. In their words, 'we avoided the temptation to make wine until the vineyard was mature', establishing the winery in 2003. Encouraged by neighbours John Thomson and Tamara Irish, they have limited the yield to 3-4 tonnes per ha on the VSP-trained, essentially dry-grown, vineyard. 5 STAR WINERY - James Hallday
Henty Estate, located to the north of Hamilton was established in 1991.
The vineyard is approximately halfway between the wine growing regions of Great Western and Coonawarra. Our vineyard is situated on the north facing slopes of an ancient volcanic eruption point. Long dry summers and autumns combine with the well drained red brown clay soils to produce full flavoured cool climate grapes of superb quality.
The seven hectares of vines rows are orientated north south to ensure even sunlight exposure to both sides of the canopy. The vines are cane pruned and vertical shoot positioned. This management regime is very labour intensive and achieves excellent fruit distribution along the canes as well as enhancing bunch ripening whilst minimising disease risk.
Vine yields are controlled by pruning, shoot thinning and selective bunch thinning after veraison. Our aim is to achieve crop levels that will achieve full ripeness by late April for Shiraz and Cabernet. In most years, harvest levels do not exceed four tonnes per hectare. The vines are netted to ensure we do not compromise the grape quality in the final stages with bird peck and subsequent infection.
