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.
97 Points James Suckling
A complex and lively wine on the nose, this makes a confident impression and has a mix of cedary French and sweeter-smelling American oak. Plenty of red fruits and the trademark five spice of the Hill of Grace vineyard. Some baking spices too, and a whiff of black and lighter pepper. The build of complex spice is stunning and really distinctive, moving through earthy nuances and into more savory elements. The acidity stands up early on the palate, ahead of sweeping and dense fleshy dark-plum and blackberry fruit flavor. A soft rolling thunder of tannins. Elegant yet sturdy and structured palate. Will age slowly and profoundly. It’s beautifully balanced, but still very much a wine in the making that should be left alone for some time yet. Aim for 2022 as a starting point.
97+ Points Wine Advocate
Hill of Grace is 100% Shiraz from pre-phylloxera material brought from Europe by the early German settlers in the mid-1800s and grown in the Eden Valley. Some of the original vines are over 145 years old. Matured in new French (65%) and American (35%) hogsheads for 21 months, the deep garnet purple colored 2006 Hill of Grace presents an incredibly perfumed, ethereal nose of warm crushed blackberries, rose petals, kirsch, violets, cinnamon stick, mace, fennel seed, eucalypt and damp earth. Very crisp and rich in the mouth with medium-firm velvety tannins and tons of fleshy fruit, it displays opulent layers of warm berries and spice in the finish. This is a staggeringly beautiful wine and delectably approachable even at this very early stage. I anticipate this great vintage will cellar to 2025+