2002 Henschke Hill of Grace Shiraz 750ml Original Wooden Box

Hill of Grace is surely one of the most evocative phrases in the world of wine. It is a translation from the German ‘Gnadenberg’, a region in Silesia, and the name given to the lovely Lutheran church that overlooks the vineyard. The 4ha single-vineyard shiraz planting is situated at the historic village of Parrot Hill 4km north-west of Henschke Cellars.

Vintage Description

"One of Australia's legendary icons is Henschke's Hill of Grace Shiraz. The 2002 is a stacked and packed, full-bodied Shiraz which possesses formidable concentration, moderately high but silky tannin, and a finish that exceeds one minute. A modern day legend, it should easily evolve for 20-25 years."  Robert Parker

Wine Description

Very dark red with ‘glowing’ violet hues. A complex nose of sweet dark fruits, ripe Thai plums, blackberries and distinctive spice nuances. Intense, rich dark fruits, chocolate and prune flavours layered between fine grainy tannins for a beautifully balanced, suave wine.

Critic tasting note: (2002 vintage) "A large-framed wine, redolent of yesteryear with notes of tea tree, dried cherry, cough drop, mint, leather, star anise and dried porcini. A waft of charcuterie and Chinese incense defines the long finish, pushing its way across a scape of drying eucalyptus. A wine of immense personality and capacity to eke out further complexity, perhaps, with time. Drink or hold. Screw cap." - James Suckling

Drinking Window: 2007 - 2042

Background

Over 165 years ago Johann Christian Henschke came from Silesia to settle and farm in the Eden Valley region. By the time third-generation Paul Alfred Henschke took over the reins in 1914, the famous Hill of Grace vines were more than 50 years old. They were planted around the 1860s by an ancestor, Nicolaus Stanitzki, in rich alluvial soil in a shallow fertile valley just north-west of the winery. The red-brown earth grading to deep silty loam has excellent moisture-holding capacity for these dry-grown vines, which sit at an altitude of 400m, with an average rainfall of 520mm. Hill of Grace is a unique, delineated, historic single vineyard that lies opposite a beautiful old Lutheran church which is named after a picturesque region in Silesia called Gnadenberg, meaning Hill of Grace. Cyril Henschke made the first single-vineyard shiraz wine from this vineyard in 1958 from handpicked grapes vinified in traditional open-top fermenters.