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  • Country ranking ?

    204
  • Producer ranking ?

    68
  • Decanting time

    5h
  • When to drink

    now to 2040
  • Food Pairing

    Grilled London Broil

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2007 Hill of Grace release marks the 50th vintage of the HIll of Grace

 

The 2007 Hill of Grace marks five decades since the release of this iconic single-vineyard wine in 1958. To celebrate, Stephen and Prue held two amazing Hill of Grace-inspired events. The first was a lunch in Melbourne at the renowned Vue de Monde restaurant. Restaurateur and chef Shannon Bennett cooked an inspired menu in his innovative style, which focuses on using organic produce, to match the enviable wine list supplied by Henschke. The lucky 16 guests were treated to five different vintages of Hill of Grace - a representative from each of the decades - among other wines that Stephen brought out from the cellar. A highlight of the lunch was Shannon’s smoked kangaroo, berry and chocolate dish matched with the 1972 and 2009 Keyneton Euphonium.

The second lunch was held at the winery in Eden Valley, ‘the birthplace of Hill of Grace’. The guests arrived at the winery in 1957 Chevrolets, in homage to the decade that first produced Australia’s finest single-vineyard wine. Continuing the homage to the era, beloved Barossa chef Maggie Beer cooked up a retro-inspired menu, which included devils on horseback, vol-au-vent with lamb’s brains and duck à l’orange, all expertly matched to wines from each of the decades.  However, it was Justine Henschke who stole the show in the end, in her original 1950s gown.

To bring the celebrations to a close, Stephen and Prue are planning a retrospective tasting later this year, to review all of the vintages over the 50-year history. While most of the vintages have been carefully stored here at the winery, there are two missing vintages: 1959 and 1960. Stephen and Prue are hoping that a collector will be willing to share one of these wines if they happen to have it in their cellar. If you are lucky enough to be the custodian of one of these vintages, please contact the winery on (08) 8564 8223 or Andrew Caillard at Langtons on (02) 9557 9100. 

 

 

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The Story

Nicolaus Stanitski, a Henschke ancestor, originally planted the Hill of Grace vineyard during the 1860s above the Barossa Valley. During the 1950s Cyril Henschke took his family concern back to wine and established the Hill of Grace label in 1956. The Shiraz vines – many now over 140 years old – are among the world's oldest genetic Shiraz plant material. It is remarkable that the vineyard remained intact considering the economic uncertainty and the social conditions of the time. The vineyard is planted on red clay soils overlain by sandy and silty loams interspersed with gravels.

There are several blocks including Grandfather’s Post Office Blocks One and Two, Young which is made up of the younger selected material located near the vines of the old post office, and the Church Block, House Block and Windmill Block. Vintage takes place during mid to late April, each parcel vinified separately to maximise blending options. The Hill of Grace style has developed along Grange lines, but by a circuitous route. Vinification takes place in open headed down fermenters with regular pumping over. Towards dryness the wine is drained and pressed. Partial barrel fermentation in a combination of new American and French oak follows to integrate oak and create complexity. The wine is then allowed to mature in the same oak for a period of about 18 months before bottling and further maturation. 

HILL OF GRACE

Location: Eden Valley wine region, 4 km north-west of Henschke Cellars at Keyneton, in the Barossa Range, South Australia.

Varieties: Shiraz (on own roots). Vines originate from pre-phylloxera material brought from Europe by the early European settlers. Riesling and Semillon.

Wines Produced: Shiraz – individual vineyard bottling since 1958.

Age: Oldest vines planted in 1860s.

Average Yield: 5 tonnes/hectare (2 tonnes/acre)

Soil: Alluvial, sandy loam over clay.

Trellis: 2 wire vertical/single wire at 70 centimetres.

Planting: Wide planting – 3.1 metres x 3.7 metres. Most are planted east-west, some north-south. Dry grown.

Treatments: Tilled and dodged for many years without herbicide. Only copper and sulphur used for foliage sprays. Now mulched and grassed down. Fungus problems are minimal. Vineyard can be considered 'organic'.

Maintenance Quality: Mass selection carried out over two growing seasons. Establishment of a mother source block.

Rainfall: 520 mm

Altitude: 400 metres


Year Vintage Quality Optimum Drinking

1984 Exceptional 20+ years
1985 Exceptional 15+ years
1986 Exceptional 20+ years
1987 Very Good 15+ years
1988 Exceptional 15+ years
1989 Great 15+ years
1990 Exceptional 20+ years
1991 Excellent 20+ years
1992 Excellent 20+ years
1993 Great 15+ years
1994 Exceptional 20+ years
1995 Excellent 20+ years
1996 Exceptional 25+ years
1997 Very Good 15+ years
1998 Exceptional 20+ years
1999 Excellent 20+ years
2000 Not Produced
2001 Excellent 20+ years
2002 Exceptional 25+ years
2003 Great 15+ years
2004 Excellent 20+ years
2005 Exceptional 20+ years
2006 Exceptional 20+ years
2007 Great 20+ years

 

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Latest Pro-tasting notes

<10 tasting notes

Tasting note

color

Deep and Bright

ending

Long, Pure and Flavorful

nose

Intense and Refined

recommend

Yes

taste

Warming, Balanced, Well-structured, Good texture, Round, Focused and Vigor

Verdict

Exotic and Well-rounded

Written Notes

Deep crimson with purple hues. Sweet, fragrant, exotic aromas of spicy red and black berry fruits, supported by plum, anise, tar and truffles and a hint of cedar. An elegantly fruited palate shows rich, complex flavours of forest fruits and cassis with underlying notes of black pepper spice, while the surprisingly restrained powdery tannins provide layers of texture for a long and luscious finish.

The 2007 vintage shaped up to be another high quality year but with significantly reduced yields in Eden Valley. Despite an early winter break, rainfall during winter and spring was the worst for years in the lead-up to flowering. There was significant spring frost damage in Eden Valley, with yield losses of 20-25%, compounded by the drought and lack of subsoil moisture with overall losses of 50%. Brief heat waves occurred during January; otherwise, it was mild and dry. At the end of January a tropical air mass connected with a cold front to bring good rains to the agricultural areas of South Australia, with flooding in the north. The 70mm rainfall fell steadily over four days, coinciding with veraison, which freshened up the vine canopy to assist with ripening the fruit for harvest. February was recorded as the hottest for 100 years, which brought the already reduced crop to an earlier ripening phase.

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Information

Origin

South Australia, Eden Valley

Vintage Quality

Excellent

Value For Money

Good

Investment potential

Below Average

Fake factory

None

Glass time

2h

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Inside Information

Over 165 years ago Johann Christian Henschke came from Silesia to settle and farm in the Eden Valley region. By the time third-generation Paul Alfred Henschke took over the reins in 1914, the famous 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. The red-brown earth grading to deep silty loam has excellent moisture-holding capacity for these dry-grown vines, which 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 called Gnadenberg, meaning Hill of Grace. Cyril Henschke made the first single-vineyard shiraz wine from this vineyard in 1958 from handpicked grapes vinified in traditional open-top fermenters.

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