Stephen and Prue reported there was enough fruit in 2021 to allow picking, block by block, and in perfect harmony. Hill of Grace benefits from the afternoon heat, resulting in a darker, deeper core than the other wines. While its scale is breathtakingly impressive, there is thrilling elegance here, too. This is a spectacular wine from start to finish, with every molecule in its place. There is a complete directory of this vineyard’s flavours on display in this wine, seemingly cataloguing every nuance from the glorious, inaugural 1958 until the present day and delivering them in epic harmony. It seems to embrace its ancient history and communicate it in a thoroughly modern language, and while you can taste it today and marvel at its greatness, I think I am only privy to around 80% of its potential. Over the ensuing two decades, we might be able to add a per cent or two more insight into just how magnificent this wine is, culminating in a perfect 20/20 vision of a perfect 20/20 wine around 2045, whereupon it will hold for those with even more patience! What a privilege. 2021 is a genuinely humbling wine, and it represents another chapter of wonder in the legend of this ancient land.
Henschke Hill of Grace Shiraz 2021 3x75cl 20+/20 MJ
Top Score: 20+ points!
“An absolute classic for this wine.”
Price IN BOND
£1,495.00 3 x 75cl Bottles
4 in stock
| Colour | Red |
|---|---|
| Vintage | 2021 |
| Country | Australia |
| Region | Eden Valley |
20+ points Matthew Jukes
99 points The Real review
Good depth of lightly purple-rimmed colour; the bouquet is a riot of dried herb scents from thyme to sage and oregano with smoky black pepper, vegetable stock, red and darker fruits including raspberry, dark plum and blackberry. The wine is full-bodied and flows evenly across the tongue, with an effortless intensity and suppleness of texture. Fine tannins are an important part of the very long, high-impact aftertaste. A superb wine of intricate detail and elegance.
- 99 points James Suckling
Incredibly fresh and refined, with deeply brooding notes of dark plums, mocha, graphite, five spice and cured meat. The palate is ultra-refined and pure, with balanced acidity, seamlessly integrated tannins and a creamy texture, showing complex notes of mulberries, cassia bark, pepper, violets and licorice. It is truly exceptional, and is an icon of Australia for a reason. Made from vines that are over 150 years old. Brilliant.
99 points Wine Companion
This release will go down in the annals of Australian fine wine as one of the classic releases for Hill of Grace. With a strong vintage and even stronger pedigree, the gnarled old, circa 1860s-planted, shiraz vines have really come up with the goods with this release and as I sit to taste this wine with Stephen Henschke he shakes his head and says, ‘it just amazes me that my grandmother’s grandfather planted these vines’. The eagle-eyed will notice a skip in vintage. The yields were down horribly in 2020 across all the Henschke vineyards but man, did 2021 deliver. Super bright magenta/crimson in the glass with a wonderfully deep aromatic profile. Doris plum, blackberry and black cherry with hints of mace, sage, panforte, cedar, dark chocolate, tapenade, pepper, charcuterie, graphite, crushed quartz and violets. From the aromatic detail to the amplitude, purity and flow of fruit, the wine is absolutely on song with stunning length of flavour and presence on the palate, sailing away slowly with tight, fine-grained tannins and the most graceful of travels on the palate. An absolute classic for this wine.
