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.
96 Points James Halliday
Excellent colour; a lovely wine, another in the stabie to bounce back ; classic Cabernet fruit, with long, fine, cedary / savoury tannins; perfect balance.
94 Points Robert Parker Wine Advocate
Aged 18 months in French oak, the fabulous 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Cyril Henschke (a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, and equal parts Cabernet Franc and Merlot) is a blockbuster example of how well Bordeaux varietals can perform in the Barossa, in this case the cooler Eden Valley. Its dense purple colour is followed by an extraordinary nose of black currants, smoke, high class cigar tobacco, cedar, spice, and subtle sweet oak. Deep, full-bodied, and intense with a multilayered mouthfeel, an explosive finish, and moderately high tannin, this cuvee will benefit from 2-3 years of bottle age, and should evolve for two decades or more.