Size & Type
Other
$865
Back when I was studying winemaking, the 1990 Hill of Grace was released at $45 a bottle! How times have changed.
Individually packaged in wooden boxes and sealed under Vinolok.
Out of stock
The Henschke family first planted vines in Australia in 1858. Now 6 generations later they have built an enviable reputation as one the world’s great wine families.
Grape varieties: 100% Shiraz
Technical Details: Alcohol 14.5% pH 3.44 Acidity 5.7g/L
Harvest Date: 17th – 26th March
Maturation: Matured in 86% French and 14% American (33% new, 67% seasoned) hogsheads for 18 months prior to blending and bottling.
Viticulture: The Henschke vineyards are nurtured under biodynamic principles.
Cellaring potential: Exceptional vintage, 30+ years (from vintage)
Tasting Note: Dark crimson in colour with deep garnet hues. A concentrated array of aromas of mulberry, blackberry and dark plum indicate the richness to come while savoury and complex notes of charcuterie, cedar, sage and five spices tease the senses. Plush and velvety on the palate, the wine has intense fruit concentration with plum, redcurrant, blackberry and anise flavours, yet an enchantingly elegant and refined structure. Layers of silky tannins reveal the impressive depth of the wine before giving way to an incredibly long finish.
Closure and packaging details for each wine are listed in the purchase form.
A NOTE FROM STEPHEN HENSCHKE
Screwcap is close to being the perfect closure for wine, however, it is not properly understood, as it should be, as a quality closure in some market places. Prue and I discovered the Vinolok at the Stuttgart Intervitis in 2004. We were very impressed by the high quality finish of the glass stopper and environmental advantages. It had won the European Innovation Award.
Not long after that we brought the first Vinolok closures to Australia and embarked on a five-year trial, conducted with the Australian Wine Research Institute, to do the due diligence. The quality of presentation, reliability and robustness of the glass stopper makes it an ideal replacement for cork. Red wine in a 750ml bottle ages under Vinolok as if it were bottled in a large-format bottle, it maintains its colour, aroma and structure over a longer period of time.
The Henschke family first planted vines in Australia in 1858. Now 6 generations later they have built an enviable reputation as one the world’s great wine families.
Today, it is fifth-generation winemaker Stephen Henschke and his viticulturist wife Prue at the helm, passionately upholding the family name and reputation.
Stephen and Prue continue to craft their white wines with a focus on purity, while their red wines have a strong focus on terroir, using traditional winemaking techniques.
“Prue and I are the current ‘keepers of the flame’. Just as earlier generations have done, we want to manage the vineyards and winery so they can be passed on to the next generation in better condition than we inherited them. The last 50 years have been an incredible journey for the Australian wine industry. Hill of Grace and Mount Edelstone are arguably the two oldest single vineyard wines produced in this country that tell the wine story of Australia. Our vision would not be complete without the expectation that future generations will uphold and perpetuate our belief that such ancient and unique single-vineyard sites can produce exceptional wines that are prized for their beauty and rarity.”
– Stephen Henschke
A traditionally wet winter, mild spring and excellent fruit set provided a great start to the 2015 vintage after four vintages with below average yields. Spring was dry and led into a very mild, dry summer with no disease, resulting in fruit with higher natural acidity, and incredible flavour and colour concentration. A dry, warm and windy start to January, however, resulted in one of the worst bushfires in the Adelaide Hills in living memory, though well away from our Lenswood vineyards. By the end of the first week, relief came with 60-75mm of rain and a record-breaking coolest January in 11 years. With the onset of veraison at the end of January, the rain was perfectly timed for the old dry-grown vineyards, and the mild weather that followed from February through to April provided for a fairytale vintage. Most of our white varieties and some Eden Valley shiraz were in before Easter, moving on to the rest of our Eden Valley and Adelaide Hills red varieties soon after, and eventually winding down at the end of April as the rain and cooler temperatures set in. The 2015 vintage has provided stunning and elegant shiraz from Eden Valley, that show extraordinary flavour, purity of fruit and acid balance with the potential for excellent ageing.
Henschke’s home base is in Keynton, South Australia. The main vineyards are in the Eden Valley, Barossa Valley and Adelaide Hills.
"A significant vintage for Hill of Grace, as the last 2015 red to leave the Henschke cellar, and a wine that delivers on every ounce of its promise and then some. The nose is so complex and fragrant with trademark brown spices taking center stage, amid light espresso, sage leaves, blackberries, cinnamon, anise, orange peel, ripe dark plums, pepper, gun smoke and a gentle, dried-rose edge. The palate has such impressive layers of fine tannin that make an instantly seamless, powerful and focused impression. It has architectural style with clean lines that build and ascend out of the finish. Long, spiced blackberries and dark plums are extruded in formation with such finesse and power. The acidity holds a torch to the rich, ripe plums and blackberries, illuminating freshness at the finish. A wine that will develop in a very consistent manner and likely to be at its best some 20 years from now. A collector’s dream."
"Deep ruby-red with a subtle tint of purple, but it’s not a colour to impress with its density or vividness. The bouquet is vegetal, dried-herbal (think sage and thyme) and evokes 'forest floor' scents, crushed raspberries and a mix of subtle brown spices (think clove and pepper). The wine is full-bodied but far from a blockbuster. The intensity and length are prodigious but it's the refinement of texture, the velvet softness of the tannins, the sublime texture, and quiet array of flavour complexities that seduce. It is already extraordinarily detailed and that's part of the genius of Hill of Grace wine. It's a gorgeous drink now, and will be for another 20 or 30 years. This is one of the greatest vintages of Hill of Grace."
“Henschke says the '15 vintage provided stunning and elegant Eden Valley shiraz with extraordinary flavours, purity of fruit and acid balance. And indeed that's a fair description of this medium-bodied Hill of Grace. The colour is still bright, clear crimson-purple, and the beautifully balanced fruit flavours are vibrantly fresh. It would be easy to underestimate the likely longevity of this wine. One of the all-time greats.”
Where in the world does the magic happen?
Henschke Cellars, Keyneton Road, Keyneton SA, Australia
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