Penfolds St Henri 1969

When I open wines like this I start to reminisce about my life.  Now I wasn't born in 1969 so I didn't think of what I was doing back then but it did take me back to Germany when I was 18.  It was summer time and the weather was not too hot or too cold.... it was just right! The group of friends that I hung around with loved to get together and have a party.  Vera was the one that controlled the music and she was obsessed with Bryan Adams.  I think I heard ‘summer of 69’ over a hundred times in a two months period.  Even though I can no longer listen to his music, drinking this wine filled me with all the joy that I associate with the time I spent in Germany that summer.  I think that older wines can take you places and fill you with emotions far more than younger wines.  To sit with this wine and think about the vision that the winemaker had some 42 years ago is rather scary.  Wines like this need to be celebrated, collected and drunk with close friends.  

Penfolds St Henri 1969

St Henri was created in the early 1950s and was a counter point to Grange.  As a young wine St Henri is pure Shiraz, normally with a little Cab, and really needs 10 to 15 years under its belt to show its best.    Now this wine doesn’t have an alcohol content or a region on the label but I think it was most probably a blend of Auldana and Magill fruit.  The wine is very relaxed and open with a little warm clay and spice.  It doesn’t really change its flavour profile for the 15 minutes that it was alive.  Just holding together and a lovely experience to drink.  

Alcohol: ?
Price: ?
Rated: Just Enjoy
Drink: Now