Regarded as the best medium-sized red wine producer in Australia, Henschke has gone from strength over the past three decades under the guidance of winemaker Stephen and viticulturist Prue Henschke. The red wines fully capitalise on the very old, low-yielding, high quality vines and are superbly made with sensitive but positive use of small new oak. Hill of Grace is second only to Penfold’s Grange as Australia’s red wine icon. A founding member of Australia’s First Family of Wine.
The Mount Edelstone vineyard, situated in the Eden Valley, was planted in 1912 by Ronald Angas, a descendant of George Fife Angas, who founded South Australia. Unusual for its time, it was planted solely to shiraz. The ancient 500 million-year-old soils on the vineyard are deep red-brown clay-loam to clay, resulting in low yields from over 100 year-old dry-grown, ungrafted centenarian vines. First bottled as a single-vineyard wine in 1952, it became recognised as one of the greatest shiraz wines in Australia.
94 points Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
Other than the top cuvees of Penfolds’ Grange, and the old vine Grenache and Astralis from Clarendon Hills, no Australian wines are richer than these offerings from Henschke – a winery that gets my nod as one of Australia’s two or three finest producers. Each of these wines coats the mouth with glorious levels of jammy fruit, extract, glycerin, and silky tannin. They are all dense ruby/purple-colored, full-bodied, and capable of lasting at least a decade, and in the case of the 1991 Shiraz Hill of Grace, possibly 20+ years. The ostentatious 1993 Shiraz Mount Edelstone Keyneton Vineyard reveals a thicker looking color, and hits the palate with even more explosive richness and ripeness than the Keyneton Estate wine. It boasts a phenomenal sweet, rich, dense middle, as well as a huge, unctuous texture and finish. While approachable, it is capable of lasting for 10-15 years. These are awesome examples of what Australia is capable of producing.