Wine Review - Penfold St Henri Shiraz 2004 - A Wine for Special Occasions

Sometimes it's good to spoil yourself, and enjoy the fruits of your hard work.

Earlier in the year we celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary, and went out for a special dinner to spoil ourselves. We chose a nearby restaurant which we had wanted to try for some time.

We ordered our meals and studied the wine list. Not wanting to get any old wine, I took a look at the more expensive wines, and almost fell iut if my chair. I really wanted something special, which we would not otherwise buy on a trip down to the bottle shop. So I chose the Penfolds St Henri Shiraz - 2004, one of the most expensive bottles on the list. It was a special occasion afterall! #spentwaytoomuchonwine

This is a high-end wine (although not in the realm of $800 a bottle Penfolds Grange), and is quite unique in that it is matured exclusively in old oak barrels, so it maintains a fruity structure with very little oak influence. This vintage had been blended with 4% Cabernet Savignon to add to the structure.

Being from 2004, it had aged very well and the structure was magnificant. Smooth and intense flavours abound of dark cherries, liquorice, light spice and a zingy tannins.

This was by far the best wine we had ever tasted, and we nursed the $120 bottle (half the total cost of our dinner) very slowly through our dinner, enjoying every sip.

It went beautifully with our fillet steak main meal..

The perfect drink for a perfect evening.

We scored this 5 out of 5. Simply perfect. Worth $120 a bottle? Absolutely!!

I keep walking past the St Henri at the bottle shop when we stop in for a couple bottles to restock our cellar. One day I'll slip one into the basket again.. one day...