From a tiny four-hectare site in South Australia’s Eden Valley, overlooked by the spire of the historic Gnadenberg church, the Henschke family’s single-vineyard, low-yielding ancestor vine shiraz has quietly carved out a name alongside the great single vineyard wines of the world.
The 2005 and 2006 Henschke Hill of Grace, both rated by Stephen and Prue Henschke as exceptional vintages, have been kept aside in the family cellars in perfect cellaring conditions for collectors of back-vintage wines. They tell the story of a unique single vineyard, two distinct seasons and a family of winemakers. Both are drinking beautifully now but will age for a further 25 years.
This release is to compensate for their decision not to release a 2011 Hill of Grace wine owing to unsatisfactory vintage conditions. Johann explains: “I think you just do get some of those vintages every now and again, and rather than have nothing, we prefer to offer something to people who have been supporting us for a long time – restaurants and collectors who are really keen on the Hill of Grace story…So that’s why we went back into our cellar stock and found some extra bottles to release. It’s a really lovely box, which is specially designed for these two wines.”
The wines have guaranteed authenticity and provenance and will be available in a collector’s box with a booklet of stories, history, tasting notes, and technical information. The foreword has been written by James Halliday, in which he lifted the score of the 2006 Hill of Grace from 97 to 98 points after another look at the wines this year. 2005 remained at 96 points.