Henschke Keyneton Euphonium 2021

The 2021 vintage was rated as “exceptional” by the Henschke family and, I might add, by quite a number of their Barossa Valley colleagues. The result is a tightly formed young wine that requires a few swishes in the glass to release some of the dark fruit, savoury earthiness and oak that lies in wait. The blend of Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot brings plenty of structure as well as flavour. It is destined to see some extended time in bottle. Dusty, smoky, woodsy, earthy, it offers a long walk through the woods releasing dark blackberry, black olive, bramble, cassis, leather with a touch of cured meats within a taut, tannin frame. You’ve got to love the very personal nature of the names chosen by the Henschke family for their wines. The Euphonium was a treasured musical instrument favoured by members of the Henschke Family Brass Band founded in 1888.

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