2019 Henschke Hill of Grace Shiraz

Henschke Hill of Grace Shiraz has deep historical roots, dating back over 180 years when Johann Christian Henschke settled in the Eden Valley. The renowned Hill of Grace vineyard, planted around 1860 by ancestor Nicolaus Stanitzki, features rich alluvial soil ideal for dry-grown vines. These ancient vines, now around 160 years old, along with Centenarians, Survivors, and Old Vines, form the backbone of this distinguished single-vineyard wine. The vineyard lies at an altitude of 400m, receiving an average rainfall of 520mm, and is named after a Silesian region known as Gnadenberg or ‘Hill of Grace’. Cyril Henschke first produced a single-vineyard Shiraz from these vines in 1958, using traditional methods, and the vineyard's historic significance continues to be celebrated.
The 2019 vintage was marked by a mild and dry winter, followed by a dry, windy spring with frost events that disrupted growth, and a late November hailstorm that affected the Shiraz crop. Warmer than average temperatures in January and February, including the hottest summer day on record, led to early maturity and vintage onset. Despite these challenges, late summer warmth ensured low disease pressure and optimal ripening. The 2019 vintage, though yielding small quantities, produced wines of exceptional quality, showcasing vibrant varietal character, structure, and flavor intensity. This vintage underscores the importance of regenerative viticulture and organic and biodynamic practices in maintaining vineyard health during an exceptionally warm and dry year.
Alc 14.5%

Other Reviews....
The vivid colour, the perfume of the bouquet, the harmony of the red and black fruits, and the reassurance of precisely tailored tannins all add to the triumph of Prue Henschke in the vineyard, and Stephen Henschke in the winery. The synergy between these parts is such that there's no hint of a difficult - indeed, very difficult - vintage.
99 Points
Halliday's Australian Wine Companion

A superlative Hill of Grace, vinous and tautly composed. The sinew and torque are that of a distance runner over a sprinter, building with strength as the wine grows in the glass. While I would hold this for at least a decade, the sense is one of inchoate beauty. Riffs on dried sage, menthol, cloves, lilacs and blue fruit over anything dark or heavy. This takes me back to the way things were, perhaps, before the climate changed. Exceptional for the style. Benchmark for the site. Best after 2032. Glass stopper.
97 Points
New Goodwin - JamesSuckling.com

The 2019 Hill of Grace Shiraz was picked earlier than the Mount Edelstone fruit, and it was picked on a single day, on March 8. This vineyard has more silt, and it brings out anise and five spice aromas in the wine. It ripens earlier than Mount Edelstone, is darker and more concentrated than the former and brings out the concentration of black fruit and fine tannins that the Eden Valley is so capable of. On the palate, the wine is super fragrant, elegant and fine, with bone broth and rose petals, peppercorns, crushed herbs, black cherry, raspberry pip, black tea and graphite. This is an eloquent wine, and it speaks of the evocatively beautiful place that is the Eden Valley. The tannins hold the fruit in a gentle way in the mouth. It is fine, such a fine expression—I must say, it's not at all what I expected of the 2019 vintage. It's a triumph of a wine. Super. 14.5% alcohol, sealed under Vinolok. Bottle number 0074. Drink 2024 - 2049.
97 Points
Erin Larkin - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Brooding blackberry and blueberry, with pronounced black tea notes, set the statuesque tone. In the mouth a dense tannin fretwork contains the muscular wall of dark fruit. Over four days, subtle flavours and textures of plum sauce and pomegranate syrup, orange blossom and rosewater (bergamot?) emerge, while the spiciness amplifies, with pungent liquorice, sandalwood, allspice and meaty cracked black pepper. Impressive grip, freshness and precision. Drink 2026 - 2050.
97 Points
Sarah Ahmed - Decanter

Henschke Hill of Grace Shiraz sees 20% new French oak. It’s all Shiraz, all grown on a vineyard first planted to pre-phylloxera material in the mid 1800s. Hill of Grace is mostly made from the oldest of these vines, though selections from 100 year old vines, 70 year old vines and 35 year old vines all make minor contributions now. 90% of the wine is matured in French oak (new, and seasoned) though 10% is matured in American oak.
This is a beautiful wine, rich and elegant at once, layered too. It’s both blueberried and leathery, with floral inputs, raspberry, cedarwood, coffee grounds and licorice. It has a creaminess to its texture but also a grain; it’s an LP-album of flavour, boasting both sheen and groove, blue and black, threads of red. The tannin is not overdone but it does not hesitate to assert. Everything here feels melted, sheened, glossed and well-cut. It will enjoy a long life. Drink 2026 - 2045.
96 Points
Campbell Mattinson - The Wine Front

Richly shaded, lustrous garnet. Rich, camphor nose with many layers. Real sweetness, with saltiness, on palate entry and waves of subsequent impact on the palate that has one of the longest finishes one might encounter. This remarkably small crop, thanks to hail and extreme heat in summer, shows no sign of dried fruit. There is quite enough juice and interest right through the tasting experience. Amazingly, you could enjoy drinking this now, even though the Henschkes suggest a life of 30 years from 2019. If I had a sore throat and a fairy godmother, this is what she would administer. Drink 2024 – 2046.
19.5 / 20 Points
Jancis Robinson MW