"93+ POINTS. Delivers a powerful expression of the blend – slippery fringed but inwardly concentrated, pulsing with slatey tannins, flavours drawn long across the palate. Aromas of sandalwood and dark berries, mocha and earth. Flavours of dark berries, dried green herbs and mocha. There’s a molten chocolatey feel here, finishes with high cacao percentage bitterness and pleasing dustiness. A very complex feel, pulled together well, though a touch flighty in true composition at this stage, but with a lifted freshness that says time will bode this wine well. Impressive." - Mike Bennie, Winefront.com.au

60% merlot and 40% cabernet sauvignon grapes grown on Stephen and Prue Henschke’s Lenswood vineyard in the Adelaide Hills.

Bright crimson with ruby hues. Sweet, fragrant aromas of red and blue fruits, cherries and raspberries with hints of dried flowers, herbs, spices and cedar. The medium-weight palate is beautifully structured with rich, juicy red fruit flavours and powerful fine-grained tannins for an excellent length and finish.

The rainfall was below average in the lead-up to the 2009 vintage in the Adelaide Hills. Spring was mild with rainfall periods in October and mid-December; however, overall it was one of the driest starts to the year since 1957. Fine flowering weather at the end of
November allowed good flowering and average yields with the vines showing vigorous growth. A dry, early summer followed, which encouraged good growth and some restriction on berry and bunch size.

Early January tended warm to hot, with a couple of heat spikes into the high 30s and low 40s, including a peak on Black Saturday, February 7, when the temperature hit 46C. Subsequent weather was mild and dry, and from March 1 moved into autumn mode, with perfect ripening weather. The natural advantage afforded by the Hills is the altitude, which provided cooler growing conditions during summer. Greater day/night temperature differentials assisted in retaining acidity in the grapes and provided greater purity of fruit flavours. Careful handpicking allowed selection of the best quality fruit with some excellent to exceptional wines benefiting from the advantages of organic and biodynamic viticulture.