1996 Henschke Hill of Grace Shiraz 750ml

Vintage Description

The 1996 vintage was preceded by a welcome average winter rainfall after two drought years. A mild spring with excellent flowering conditions and a mild, cool but windy summer allowed for above average yields. A cool, dry autumn provided an exceptionally long, slow ripening period with very good flavour development and quality.

Wine Description

Deep garnet with brick red hues. Incredibly gorgeous and subtle aromas of blackcurrant, frankincense, Chinese five spice and green peppercorn. The palate is focused and beautifully structured with sweet fruit, spice, balanced acidity and fully molten tannins that provide elegance and length.

Drinking Window

2001-2046

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.