Henschke Hill Of Grace Shiraz 2016

Scores

98 / 100

"#1 of 36 Shiraz From Eden Valley Deep ruby-red colour with a trace of purple. The bouquet is multi-faceted and beguiling in its mellow complexities, invoking earthy, humus, undergrowth, dried herbs and ironstone, blackberry and licorice aromas with a hint of mocha, the same flavours appearing on the palate, which is tremendously concentrated and powerful, without loss of its essential elegance. A miraculous wine of concentration and balance. A powerful vintage of this wine"
- Huon Hooke

99 / 100

"“Gorgeous floral lift and vibrant plum and fresh, pureed lackberry and mulberry aromas. The palate is full of rich, ripe, sculpted and slippery-smooth fruit, so young and lithe it runs away from you, trailing deep notes of spice, black olive, dried herbs and ironstone minerals in its wake. On day two, it is buoyant and muscular: the fruit starts to build, bearing waves of ground black pepper, anise, liquorice, baking spices, tamarind, cardamom and cigar smoke. Fine but distinct layers of lacy tannins and gently creamy oak support an ultra-long and harmonious finish. Powerful but perfectly proportioned; the consummate Shiraz.”"
- Decanter

98 / 100

"“Henschke's 2016 Hill of Grace Shiraz is locked up tight behind a stubborn wall of firm tannins. Scents of pencil shavings, mocha, bay leaf, mixed berries and plums appear on the nose, while the full-bodied palatestarts off broad, expansive and creamy, then draws to a chewy, drying finish. There's ample concentration, length, complexity and a definitive track record of aging, so put this version away for several years while waiting for it to emerge and show its true glory. If you absolutely must drink it now, decanting for a couple of hours helps soften the tannins and brings the fruit forward.”"
- Joe Czerwinski

97 / 100

"This is a rich, luxurious, fruit-driven vintage release, with oodles of cherry, blueberry and plum threaded with licorice, mint, mocha and flowers alongside a cured meat underbelly. The palate offers wonderfully concentrated, satiny fruit cinched by powerful, sandpaper-textured tannins and buoyed by pitch-perfect acidity. It's showing a lick of polished oak but is crafted for the very long haul. Drink through 2050."
- Wine Enthusiast

18.5 / 20

"A super-dense and tightly wound expression of Hill of Grace, with the promise of lots and lots of dark fruit waiting to be revealed from within the flood of dense tannin that blankets the tongue. A superbly layered wine, and – along with the 2012 – one that I think needs a couple more years to even begin to drink as well as it could."
- Jancis Robinson MW

Tasting Notes