Henschke Tappa Pass Shiraz 2022

A celebration vintage for Tappa Pass – its 20^th anniversary. Old vine Shiraz up to 70 years in age lies at the core of this wine whose name traditionally celebrates the role of the Barossa’s early Silesian winegrowers and historical vineyards at Tappa Pass and Light Pass. It speaks of the land, of the earth, of the bush. In the past, Tappa Pass has been described as sturdy. It’s a description well suited to the ’22. Briar, earth, black fruits, anise, spice and chocolate with a lifted, oak-defined woodsmoke character light up the bouquet. The palate is nicely concentrated with attention given to savoury earth, briar, cedary notes and black fruits against a pretty firm tannin structure. It’s a slow mover. It’s in no rush.

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