Henschke Hill of Grace

Henschke Hill of Grace Shiraz bottle image

Wine Description

Over 165 years ago Johann Christian Henschke came from Silesia to settle and build his farm in the Eden Valley region. By the time third-generation Paul Alfred Henschke took over the reins in 1914, the now famed Hill of Grace vines were more than 50 years old. They were planted around the 1860s by an ancestor, Nicolaus Stanitzki, in rich alluvial soil in a shallow fertile valley just north-west of the winery

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Acclaim
"Deep, shimmering purple. Displays an array of ripe, mineral-accented black and blue fruit preserve, floral, tobacco and spice qualities on the hugely perfumed nose. Stains the palate with sweet, penetrating blueberry, Chambord, cherry liqueur and fruitcake flavors that take on vanilla, espresso and smoky mineral nuances as the wine stretches out. Conveys a jaw-dropping exhibition of power and restraint and finishes extremely long, sweet and precise, with smooth tannins framing lingering dark fruit and lavender pastille notes. This wine's marriage of depth to delicacy is something else."
— Vinous, Dec 2021
"Medium to deep garnet colored, the 2012 Shiraz Hill of Grace is a little reticent on the nose to begin, opening out to a somewhat paradoxically tantalizing black forest cake, beef dripping, fertile loam and tree bark nose with hints of black pepper, Marmite, bay leaves, eucalyptus, licorice and baker’s chocolate. The medium to full-bodied palate is a wonderfully intricate mélange of mineral, savory, dark fruits and spice layers, framed by velvety tannins and refreshing acidity, finishing epically. This is a truly great Hill of Grace that has just entered the first stage of its drinking window and should continue to develop beautifully over the next 25+ years."
— James Halliday, Aug 2017
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Vineyard & Production Info
Vineyard name
Hill of Grace Vineyard
Soil composition
Allivial sandy loam over clay
Elevation:
1,312 feet
Harvest time:
19 March-4 April
First vintage of this wine:
1958
Average Vine Age:
100 year average - oldest vines 150 years
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Winemaking & Aging
Varietal composition:
100% Shiraz
Fermentation container:
Traditional open-top concrete fermentation tanks
Malolactic fermentation:
Full
Fining agent:
Vegan
Type of aging container:
Hogsheads
Type of oak:
French and American
Length of aging before bottling:
18 months
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Analytical Data
pH level:
3.6
Acidity:
6.3 g/L
Alcohol:
14.5 %
Residual sugar:
1.1 g/L
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Wine Production

Cyril Henschke made the first single-vineyard shiraz wine from this vineyard in 1958 from handpicked grapes vinified in traditional open-top fermenters. Matured in 58% new and 42% seasoned (85% French and 15% American) hogsheads for 18 months prior to blending the separate parcels from the vineyard and bottling.

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About the Vineyard

The red-brown earth grading to deep silty loam has excellent moisture-holding capacity for these dry-grown vines, that sit at an altitude of 400m, with an average rainfall of 520mm. Hill of Grace is a unique, delineated, historic single vineyard that lies opposite a beautiful old Lutheran church, which is named after a picturesque region in Silesia known as Gnadenberg, meaning ‘Hill of Grace’.