Palate: The energy is enlivening as this wine graces the palate, long and undeviating on first taste, it fills out with a little time in the glass. After some air, touches of Turkish spices hint to the delicate integration of French oak. Bunchy characters like homemade boiled lollies, strawberry shortcakes and lilly pillies meld with smoky speck and brooding dark musk. We think this wine exhibits these characteristics and provides both concentration and flavour and a certain delicacy, rather than simple raw power.Īroma: This is really an olfactory party, there’s so much going on. Their farming practices are designed to produce wines of intensity, but also with layers of texture, flavour and interest for the consumer. It does not move for minutes and retains its youthful vitality so you can be sure it is a keeper for the long term.Quandong Farm Shiraz is a single vineyard wine that aims to highlight the intensity and brightness of fruit grown using biodynamic techniques. Waves of dark fruit are lifted by earthy spice and wrapped up in a blanket of tannins which help to draw out a long and strong finish which, combined with raw power, makes this wine close to perfection. There is then fantastic impact on the palate and density of fruit, which is still tight and firm. A little floral element adds a nice touch. But ever so slowly the door was opened and it has shown itself to be a magnificent vintage, built for the long haul thanks to a rare combination of sheer power, composure and balance.ĭeeply coloured, there are many layers of dark fruit with a light dusting of dried sage, meat and peppery spice. It’s still holding all the cards close to its chest, even after being open for a couple of days. While the 2015 vintage was already showing its complexity this wine, like the 2016 Mount Edelstone Shiraz, is a different beast altogether. In discussions with Stephen Henschke about this wine the term tightly coiled kept coming up. Henschke Hill of Grace Eden Valley Shiraz 2016 Watch the full tasting with Stephen, Prue and Justine Henschke The wines will be available from Wednesday May 5.
To celebrate the launch of Hill of Grace, Winepilot hosted a tasting this week of the new range with some of Australia’s top wine experts, including Jeni Port, Andrea Pritzker MW, Simon Curkovic and Melissa Moore, joined by Justine, Stephen and Prue Henschke to get not only the opinions from leading critics and sommeliers but also to hear direct from the family about these wines and what they mean to them personally. Tasting all three wines together provides a fascinating journey through Eden Valley Shiraz, from the raw power of Mount Edelstone to the perfumed beauty of Hill of Roses and then to the complete package that is Hill of Grace. It has taken some years for the Hill of Roses to rise up but this wine is now absolutely close to the top of the tree in the Henschke portfolio. The area where the Hill of Grace vineyard was planted was historically also a small town, with the remains of the local Parrot Hill Post Office still sitting across the road from this vineyard. The Hill of Roses is created from younger vine fruit taken off the Hill of Grace vineyard, and a particular part known as the Post Office Block. Perhaps the most fascinating component of this year’s releases is the Hill of Roses Shiraz 2016.
The wine is still made from the original Mount Edelstone vineyard planted in 1912. Mount Edelstone actually predates the Hill of Grace wine, with its first release back in 1952. This year the Hill of Grace release is unusually partnered with the launch of Mount Edelstone from the same vintage. The Hill of Grace is also one of the most beautiful vineyards in Australia, if not the world. And after all these years it is still largely based on the original Hill of Grace Grandfather vines, planted around 1860. Henschke’s Hill of Grace has an unrivalled history in Australian single vineyard wines thanks to its almost uninterrupted line of vintages stretching back to 1958. One of the biggest days on the Australian wine calendar is almost here – the new vintage release of Henschke’s single vineyard wines, including the iconic Hill of Grace from 2016.
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