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Hill of Grace 2016

Henschke, Eden Valley, Australia

Henschke
Eden Valley Australia
  • 99
    Points
  • The 427 best
    of 3 290 954
    wines globally
  • 5 Pros of
    5 recommend
    this wine
270 99
  • Taste
  • Moment

  • Country ranking ?

    14

  • Producer ranking ?

    6

  • Decanting time

    4h

  • When to drink

    2020-2035

  • Food Pairing

    Lamb

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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 an...

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Tasting note

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Written Notes

Henschke Hill of Grace 2016 / Deep ruby-red colour with a trace of purple. The bouquet is multi-faceted and beguiling in its mellow complexities, invoking earthy, humus, undergrowth, dried herbs and ironstone, blackberry and licorice aromas with a hint of mocha, the same flavours appearing on the palate, which is tremendously concentrated and powerful, without loss of its essential elegance. A miraculous wine of concentration and balance. A powerful vintage of this wine.

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  • 98p

This has a very complex nose, offering so many facets of spices and fragrance with florals and orange peel, as well as crushed stones, ripe black cherries, blackberries and dark cherries, earth, chocolate and more. The intensity and power here is very tightly held and it has a build of such precise tannins, which carry very intense and assertively ripe blackberries, dark cherries, ripe plums and blueberries. So much on offer here. This has a very bold, intense feel. Exceptional vintage. One of their finest. Try from 2028. Screw cap.

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  • 100p

2016 Henschke Hill of Grace, Eden Valley – South Australia / Medium deep crimson. Intense and fragrant blackberry pastille, dark plum, herb garden, sage aromas, underlying vanilla, roasted chestnut notes and hints of star anise. Complex and pure-fruited with blackberry, dark plum, mulberry flavours, integrated vanilla, roasted chestnut (oak) notes, some chinotto nuances and fine supple and vigorous velvetine/ al-dente tannins, lovely buoyancy/mid-palate viscosity and fresh long mineral acidity. Finishes claret-firm with plentiful sweet and savoury notes. A seductive yet elegant wine with superb vinosity, complexity and resonance. Unmistakably Hill of Grace. A beautiful “sotto-voce” vintage. 14.5% Alc. Screwcap. Drink 2024-2040+ 99 points
 
Matured in 85% French and 15% American oak hogsheads for 18 months. (Around 29% new oak)

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  • 99p

This is the (robustly priced) jewel in the Henschke crown, the produce of arguably the most famous old vineyard in Australia with an average age of 70 to 80 years although The Grandfathers block was planted way back, on the deepest, siltiest soil, in 1860. Each of the several blocks apparently has a different character according to soil type. The original Ancestors (vines over 125 years) are now approximately 160 years old and remain the heart of Hill of Grace, along with a small selection of centenarians (vines over 100 years), and vines that qualify as old vines (over 35 years) in the Barossa Old Vine Charter scheme – all planted on their own roots. Picked 9 to 14 March. Matured in 85% French and 15% American hogsheads for 18 months prior to blending and bottling. 29% of the oak was new.
Pretty deep purplish crimson. Not much evolution at the rim (unlike the Hill of Roses). Initially pretty reticent on the nose. Then fumes started to swirl up from the glass as from a cauldron! I'm thinking witches here. Luscious ripe fruit within a stern framework – it really is impossible to spit out. Strong saline quality on the (very long) finish. Just unfurling in the glass but the intensity of the fruit almost masks the tannic charge. I know Stephen Henschke talks about the red and black fruit here but I get lots of mineral stuff. It is a really very unusual combination of lift/freshness with intensity of historic Shiraz. Such throat-soothing persistence! But what a price!! (Though more or less the same as Penfolds Grange 2016.) 24 hours later the colour seems to have mellowed. But the wine is still amazingly luscious and broad with strong mineral and saline notes. Decant this and you could enjoy it immediately.

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  • 95p
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Information

Origin

South Australia, Eden Valley

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