Henschke Hill Of Grace Shiraz 1996 | Eden Valley

Winemaking Notes

Over 180 years ago, Johann Christian Henschke came from Silesia to settle and build his farm in the Eden Valley region. By the time third-generation Paul Alfred Henschke took over the reins in 1914, the now famed Hill of Grace vines were more than 50 years old. The original vines, known as the 'Grandfathers', were planted around 1860 by an ancestor, Nicolaus Stanitzki, in rich alluvial soil in a shallow fertile valley just north-west of the Henschke family winery. The red-brown earth grading to deep silty loam has excellent moisture-holding capacity for these dry-grown vines, that sit at an altitude of 400m, with an average rainfall of 520mm. Cyril Henschke made the first single-vineyard shiraz wine from this vineyard in 1958 from handpicked grapes vinified in traditional open-top fermenters. The original Ancestors (vines over 125 years) are now approximately 160 years old and remain the heart of the Hill of Grace wine, along with a small selection of Centenarians (vines over 100 years), Survivors (vines over 70 years), and Old Vines (vines over 35 years), all planted on their own roots. Matured in French and American oak hogsheads for 21 months prior to blending and bottling. Bottle aged in the Henschke cellar for museum release.

Vintage Conditions

Following one of the worst droughts in history, soil moisture and dam levels were extremely low ahead of vintage. Despite a frosty, windy spring with little rain, fruit set was better than the previous year. Hot, dry, windy summer weather stressed vines, reducing berry size and crop. A major rain event in late February caused fruit split. Vintage was small but of very good quality. The 1996 vintage produced challenging conditions for the Hill of Grace vineyard, allowing the 160-year-old pre-phylloxera vines to develop ethereal aromas of blackberry, raspberry, plum and date with nuances of five spice, nutmeg, clove, cherry oak, leather and earth. The combination of drought conditions, hot dry windy summer and reduced berry size created a wine with deep ruby colour with tawny hues, spiced plum and black olive layered with hints of shiitake mushroom, crushed herbs and cedar. Balanced by fine acidity, excellent depth and a long, seamless finish. Despite the challenging vintage, the result was a small vintage of very good quality.