This week in South Australia, at the Adelaide Oval’s premier restaurant, a venue that takes its name from their flagship wine, the Henschke family released their 2010 Hill of Grace Shiraz.
The greatness of the 2010 vintage has been well-established with many South Australian reds scoring very well in tastings. And this, one of the last wines to be released from the vintage, is every bit as good as I expected. It is among the very best of recent Hill of Grace releases and will be a wine that delivers much to those that have the patience to wait for up to 20 years.
The excitement around this wine started a couple of years ago with the 2010 Henschke Mount Edelstone, a single-vineyard, old-vine Shiraz, grown just a short distance away in the Eden valley’s high country. An exceptional wine, I awarded it 96 points and I’ve had my eye on the 2010 Hill of Grace ever since.
It was presented alongside two other recent vintages, 2002 and 2005, both of which are among the best recent releases. The 2002 is from a cooler vintage and has an emphatically spicy edge and 2005 is a richer and very powerful wine, completely saturated in flavor. It is so impressive to taste yet it will take some time to reach its full potential.
Likewise, the 2010 Hill of Grace is also going to take some time to reach its full potential, although it does make a clear statement of richness and power coupled with the precision and elegance that are hallmarks of this wine in every vintage. The spices are all here, they’re in the vineyard’s DNA too, and the layered textural quality of noble old vine tannin is mesmerizing. I can’t wait to taste this wine in twenty years!
Local Barossan artist Rod Schubert (pictured here, center, with Stephen and Prue Henschke) was commissioned to create a work to honor the 2010 Hill of Grace and its theme – radiance, a word chosen by the Henschkes to encapsulate the essence of the vintage. The quality of light in 2010 was a feature of the vintage and Schubert has produced a triptych of monochromes, each one representing a different interpretation of the 1860’s Hill of Grace vines, a small reproduction that will accompany each individually packaged bottle.
Henschke Shiraz Eden Valley Hill of Grace 2010
The 2010 vintage will be remembered as one of the most perfect renditions of this single site planted dating back to 1860. The signature spice and sage leaf are here. It’s bursting with an array of dark brown spice aromas, pepper too, the fruits run from raspberry tinges through to deep blackberry, cassis and blueberry fruits, blue plums too. The palate is immensely smooth and soft, velvety tannins have deep-grained texture. It floats with richness yet lightness, and really fills out the palate and occupies every possible space. The balance is superb and the finish runs so long and deep in several phases of favor, from plum to cherry, from roasted spice and mocha, it goes on seemingly endlessly, saturated in old vine Shiraz flavor yet perfectly poised. Tannins shimmer, acidity reflects off their smooth-honed surface. This is the Eden Valley equivalent of Burgundy’s Le Chambertin – a bottomless well of flavor, elegant yet profoundly powerful and another brilliant addition to a superb run of recent vintages. Best from 2022. 99 points
Henschke Shiraz Eden Valley Hill of Grace 2005
One of the best all-time vintages. This stamps an irrefutable claim on the very top rung of Australian shiraz. Striking blackberry fruits and a good dose of spicy complexity, there’s a bit of bracken here, fragrant rose petals, lighter fragrance, some deeper, profound aromas and impressive complexity. The palate has impossibly long drive and intricate detail, delivering an innate sense of harmony and seemingly endless length. Toasted spices float across a swathe of blackberry fruit. A landmark single-vineyard shiraz with soul and distinction. Saturated with flavor. Best from 2017. 99 points
Henschke Shiraz Eden Valley Hill of Grace 2002
Exceptional vintage. A very cool year that was saved by a warm Autumn, this has dark color and shows plenty of pomegranate, raspberry and red cherry fruits, hints of tobacco and citrus, some red liquorice and five spice, really reflective of a cooler season. The palate has richness, softness and density, a luxurious textural wine that delivers immense red and dark fruit flavor. Lots of plum, plenty of spice and terrific smooth, sweeping tannin drive through the finish. Already showing well, I’d give this until 2025 in order to get the full array of kaleidoscopic spice characters, it will be quite a thing. 97 points
