Henschke 2025 The Nurturer

 

This new release blend from the Henschke family has a calm, quiet charm about it. It clearly comes from a place of contentment. It is named in honour of family matriarch Prue Henschke, a viticulturist, botanist and environmentalist behind the organics practiced across the family's vines. The Nurturer is a most unusual combination of southern French varieties grown in the Eden Valley: carignan, counoise, grenache gris, grenache noir, clairette, cinsault and shiraz (each variety added in harvest order). It works brilliantly if you like your reds a little less blockbuster, a little more contemplative. Aromatic and vibrant with lively red and black fruit notes, we paired this with savoury Middle Eastern bourekas, thin layers of pastry filled with cheese and pepperberries. Excellent value at $40. https://www.henschke.com.au/

Pewsey Vale 2025 Riesling

 

Walk into any wine shop and you are likely to be confronted by a bewildering array of choices. Some days you might feel like experimenting; others you might want to be assured you are getting a familiar favourite that always delivers. The Hill-Smith family has been producing the dry Pewsey Vale riesling since 1847 - using fruit from a lovely vineyard in the hills of the Eden Valley in the Barossa. Year in, year out this single site wine delivers excellent drinking for under $30 - think intense aromas with a melange of citrus, leading to bright acid and stunning length on the palate. After a few months in bottle this is sitting in a very comfortable space and would pair with anything from fresh Tassie oysters to salt and pepper squid. $28.

Henschke 2025 Julius Riesling

 

Six generations of the Henschke family have been making wines in South Australia for over 150 years - and their immense range really does offer something for everyone.  All their wines come with class and style and I was particularly impressed by this benchmark Eden Valley riesling - an exemplar of the family expertise with the grape variety. Named in honour of a family ancestor, this is a pale, aromatic example with citrus and floral on the nose with lime/grapefruit flavours to the fore on a zesty palate with impressive flinty minerality and lively acid. A perfect after-work libation, or ideal for pairing with seafood or lightly spiced Asian dishes. Fine and focussed. $56. https://www.henschke.com.au/

Henschke 2022 Keyneton Euphonium

 

Henschke makes some of Australia's most sought-after wines, including the $1000-a-bottle Hill of Grace, regarded as the best single-vineyard wine in the country. But the Henschke family - six generations in - also offers a range of far more affordable wines; like this red blend that would grace any dinner party table. A blend of shiraz and cabernet sauvignon, along with small amounts of cabernet franc and merlot, it is a very stylish amalgam of fruit from the Barossa and the cooler Eden Valley. The name pays tribute to an instrument used by the former Henschke Family Brass Band. This is a very sophisticated drop that be enjoyed now, or cellared for decades. Bright and beautifully balanced with oak playing a role in creating impressive structure. $67. https://www.henschke.com.au/