Henschke
Hill of Grace Eden Valley
Eden Valley
2015

The producer

The Henschke family arrived in Australia as part of the German/Silesion dispora that populated the Barossa Valley in the early 1800s. Their original property was at Krondorf but they leased and planted grapes at Parrot Hill on what was to become Hill of Grace in 1858; the property was finally purchased in 1891. They purchased the current winery property adjoining in 1862, and the first recorded wine sales were in 1868 the date given as the establishment of Henschke Wines. The Mount Edelstone vineyard was planted in 1912.

The big changes came with fourth generation Cyril Henschke who took over in 1952 and immediately started phasing out the production of fortified wines in favour of table wines. Something was obviously working as the 1956 Mount Edelstone won first prize at the Royal Agricultural Society Grand Easter Wine Show in Sydney the following year. The first vintage of Hill of Grace was produced in 1958.

Stephen Henschke and his wife Prue assumed control in 1979 and the wines and their fame hit the stratosphere in the following decades, and are now among the most-demanded wines in Australia and abroad. Hill of Grace regularly vies with Penfolds Grange as Australia’s top wine. Mount Edelstone makes a strong statement of quality in its own right and we offer both wines. Henschke also produces an outstanding straight Cabernet Sauvignon, named after Cyril Henschke. 

The wine

Hill of Grace is a legendary and highly sought-after Shiraz wine produced by the Henschke family. The wine is named after the Hill of Grace vineyard, which is located on a gentle slope overlooking the village of Gnadenberg in the Barossa Valley.

The vineyard was first planted in the 1860s by a Lutheran pastor, who named the vineyard after the nearby church, Gnadenberg Lutheran Church. The Henschke family acquired the vineyard in 1958 and began producing wine from the Shiraz grapes grown there.

Hill of Grace is made from 100% Shiraz grapes, which are handpicked and carefully sorted before undergoing fermentation in open-top vats. The wine is then aged for 18-20 months in French oak barrels, which imparts complex flavors and aromas to the wine. It is known for its incredible depth, complexity, and elegance, with intense flavors of blackberry, plum, and dark cherry, along with notes of spice, pepper, and cedar. The wine has a velvety texture, with silky tannins and a long, lingering finish.

Hill of Grace is considered one of Australia's most iconic wines and is consistently rated among the world's best Shiraz wines. The wine is regularly to Penfolds Grange as the greatest Australian Shiraz but they are different in that Hill of Grace is a single vineyard wine, whereas Grange is a multi-regional blend. Which is “better” is a matter of personal taste but a comparison of the two is a fabulous experience and one we highly recommend.

We choose our wines based on a range of criteria (see how we choose our wines) of which critic scores is just one. Rather than simply highlight the best score to promote a wine, our average critic score is calculated from the scores provided by several respected wine critics, who we follow for specific regions. They do not represent all critic scores and, wherever possible, we try and give more weight to more recent reviews. Where appropriate we consider market-based scores like Global Wine Score or Wine Searcher Average scores.

As a rule, we look to offer wines that achieve a 92/100 average critic score or better and frankly a lot of very good wines simply don’t make the cut. As a high-end provider we want to reflect that positioning in the quality of wines we offer. Such wines are only a tiny fraction of those generally on offer in the market. We believe that an average score is a more conservative and representative approach, but it is still subjective and only offered as a guide to our customers, who will (and should) do their own research. We will add individual critic scores to our website in the future.