Henschke Keyneton Barossa Euphonium 2017

To answer your first question. A euphonium is a musical brass instrument, a pretty complex-looking arrangement of valves and such. The word stems from ancient Greek and means sweet voiced.

To answer the second question. This particular euphonium is equally complex to take in, an arrangement of shiraz (62%) and cabernet (11%) with relatives cabernet franc and merlot also ushered into action. The cabernet members loom surprisingly large in the final set piece bringing with them earth, briar, dried herbs and a blackcurrant intensity. They also bring the firm structure, shiraz providing the warm velvety texture and licorice spice, not to mention a touch of sage and bay leaf. Toast, pencil shavings oak. Expensive oak by the taste! Everything is ready for a big reveal, just not yet. Another one for the cellar. It’s getting crowded in there.

Jeni Port

Wine critic at Winepilot

Jeni Port is one of Australia’s top wine communicators. Based in Melbourne, Jeni created the first wine column in the (then) Sun News-Pictorial before moving over to The Age and becoming that paper’s longest-serving wine writer. Over the years she has written for most Australian wine magazines and these days calls WinePilot home. She is also a Tasting Panel member on the Halliday Wine Companion. She was named Wine Communicator of the Year and Legend of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival in 2014 and in 2018 Legend of the Vine. She is a founding board member of Australian Women In Wine and is the co-deputy chair of Australia’s Wine List of the Year Awards and China’s Wine List of the Year Awards.

Wine writer and critic