Henschke Julius Riesling 2012

Written By Campbell Mattinson
Bottle of Henschke Julius Riesling 2012.

Henschke Julius Riesling 2012
11.5% alcohol, screwcap, Eden Valley.

I was served this 14-year-old riesling at an event recently and it proved, once again, how magnificently Henschke’s Julius Riesling can age. At the time of its release both Gary Walsh and I rated this wine highly on The Winefront, and when I tasted it again recently the first thing that stood out was its complexity, the second was its freshness, and the third – mostly compellingly – was the stony, pebbly, slatey aspect of its back palate. At release I said this: “Smells citrussy and pure and gives up some easy flavour, but (it) becomes slatey and deadly serious as you swallow.” Those words still hold true, the promise of the wine in its youth now franked. Age has added an extra layer of toasty complexity, and some yellow to the colour, but it remains spritely, even vigorous. It’s in the zone for drinking now but truth is that it will drink well for another 15 plus years. 95 points.

Campbell Mattinson

This post was written by Campbell Mattinson. Mattinson is a former chief editor of the Halliday Wine Companion book, former editor of Halliday magazine, former editor of Australian Sommelier Magazine and founder of The Winefront business. He is the author of five books on wine – four of which were bestsellers (The Wine Hunter, the Big Red Wine Book 2008, the Big Red Wine Book 2009, and the Big Red Wine Book 2010).

Mattinson is also the founder of the Mattinson Photography business.

Campbell Mattinson has been an independent journalist, wine critic and photographer for forty years. He’s the only Australian to have won the Australian Wine Communicator of the Year Award more than once. He’s a past winner of a Louis Roederer International Wine Media Award; is the author of the award-winning book The Wine Hunter; and is the author of the best-selling novel We Were Not Men. He’s also a winner of a St Kilda Film Festival Award (as writer-director) and is a former winner of the national Best Australian Sports Writing Award. In 2026 three of his photographs were short-listed for the World Food Photography Awards.

Campbell Mattinson, who is 100% independent, has tasted between 5000 and 10,000 wines each and every year for the past 25 years. He tastes blind, in comparative brackets, as often as is practicable.

Campbell Mattinson is a journalist, a photographer, a filmmaker and a wine critic. In all of these mediums his prime motive is to tell people's stories.

https://www.campbellmattinson.com
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