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#24 on Wine Spectator’s Top 100 is Here
2005 Penfolds St. Henri Shiraz ($54.99) - #24 on Wine Spectators Top 100 Wines of 2009
Heads Up! Many of the Top 100 Wines are here at B-21, and even more are arriving. #24 just came in.
For 50 years, Penfold’s has set the standard for Australian wine with more than Grange. A second iconic wine, St. Henri, shapes Shiraz in a way that is stunningly different, and perhaps, more luscious and sexy. This luxury red was long overshadowed and often just called Penfold’s Claret. That didn’t do it justice; it’s not close to a bland 15-pound red in a Brit wine bar.
The St. Henri style stands alone. It is an exceptional Shiraz with a slender Cabernet-like backbone, matured in large old barrels for smooth silky, early drinking without a hint of oak. The grapes are the best from Barossa, Clare and McLaren Vale. Why not? 2005 was the best in a decade all over South Australia. It’ll take many more years and dollars before you can taste Grange this good. Only 1,000 cases came into the US but we’ve got it, and at $54.99 (ten bucks under the expected tab).
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