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 Robert Parker 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-coloured 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+.