Penfold 1996 St Henri Shiraz Feb 05

In great vintages, like 1996, I try and keep my dirty little hands off this label until it is 10 years old but I couldn't wait so cracked a bottle now. Initially there was a touch of the VA but this blew off fairly quickly, as did the bottle stink to reveal a beautiful aroma of complex berries ranging from black to blue with a touch of spice and the start of some leathery characters. On the palate, this wine already has fantastic complexity and is starting to show excellent aged characteristics whilst still maintaining an excellent intensity of fruit. The palate retains bouquet integrity with the addition of subtle chocolate and a little leafy influence whilst retaining youthful acidity and powdery tannins that still need time to integrate and soften further so this wine should continue to improve for many years to come. Bloody enjoyable, it has just reached the Excellent level and now I have seen how good the wine is, I am certainly glad that I still have eleven left to enjoy.