1981 Henschke Hill of Grace Shiraz

Notes sourced from Henschke.

Made from100% old vine Shiraz grapes from pre-phylloxera material brought from Europe by the early German settlers in the mid 1800's.The famous 100 year old Hill of Grace vines were planted around the 1860's by an ancestor, Nicolaus Stanitzki, in rich alluvial soil in a shallow fertile valley just north-west of the winery The vineyard lies opposite a beautiful old Lutheran Church, built of local field stone, which was euphoniously named Gnadenberg, meaning "Hill of Grace". Made using traditional open top submerged cap fermentation and matured in American and French oak barrels.The 1981 season will be remembered for the hottest, driest summer since 1939 which put the vines under severe water stress and which was only relieved by rain on the first day of autumn, this was then followed by pleasant, cool, dry weather which allowed our grapes to ripen under more favourable conditions than those experienced in the hot, earlier vintage areas. The red wines of this vintage not only displayed an elegant lightness but also retained their distinctive fruit characters and were extremely well balanced.Ruby/brick red in colour, sweet, rich developed prune, liquorice, earth and polished leather on the bouquet. Delightful chocolate, liquorice palate with ferns/herbaceous hints, rich, full and intense, finishing with long firmer tannins. Very good vintage, drink now. Decant before serving.