Very deep crimson in colour. Exhibiting sweet, lifted, spicy aromas of cassis, anise and violets; complex with hints of cedar and tar. The palate is lush, fleshy and layered with sweet fruit; concentrated and complex with good length.
Reviews:
- Wine Advocate: A saturated purple color, the aromatics reveal lots of spice, cigar box, black currants and blackberry.
- James Halliday: High quality wine; blackcurrant and cassis fruit leads both bouquet and palate; fine tannins and cedary oak add layers to the mouthfeel.
Producer Information
Henschke is a critically well-regarded wine estate based in the Eden Valley town of Keyneton, South Australia. The winery produces a range of wines from the Eden Valley and surrounding subregions, including Barossa and Adelaide Hills. Henschke is best known for its intense, full-bodied flagship wine, Hill of Grace, made from Shiraz vines of up to 150 years old. It is one of the most expensive – and sought-after – wines to be made in Australia. Founded in 1862 by Silesian immigrants, Henschke is one of the oldest wine producers in Australia, and remains under the ownership of the family. Winemaker Stephen Henschke, educated at the Geisenheim Institute in Germany, and his viticulturist wife Prue are generally considered to be among the leading wine authorities in the country. A wide range of wines are made from a handful of different vineyards, which are farmed according to biodynamic principles. Three of these are in the Eden Valley, in the cooler part of the Mount Lofty ranges just to the east of the Barossa Valley. The Hill of Grace vineyard is regarded as the hallowed ground of the Australian wine industry and has 20 acres (eight hectares), of which half is planted to low-yielding vines on their own rootstocks. The oldest block is known as the Godfathers, whose vines date from the 1860s and are among the oldest in the winemaking world. While the Hill of Grace label is given over to Shiraz, also present in the vineyard are plantings of Sémillon, Riesling and Mataro (Mourvèdre) which go into other labels in the portfolio. Sometimes considered the younger sibling of Hill of Grace, the Mount Edelstone label and vineyard (anglicized from Edelstein and covering 40 acres/16 hectares) features low-yielding, widely spaced vines planted on their own rootstocks. Indeed, the Mount Edelstone Shiraz is regarded as approaching Hill of Grace in terms of quality while boasting a somewhat more affordable price tag.
