The Henschke family is pleased to announce the global launch of its revered 2021 Single Vineyard Release from the Eden Valley on Wednesday, 7 May 2025. This highly anticipated collection includes the 2021 vintage of Hill of Grace Shiraz, Hill of Roses Shiraz, Mount Edelstone Shiraz, The Wheelwright Shiraz and Cyril Henschke Cabernet Sauvignon.
As single-vineyard wines, production is limited by the size of the site and how the season unfolds.
The most precious and historic of the Henschke vineyards, Hill of Grace, is just 4 hectares of old-vine shiraz with the first vines planted around 1860. Cuttings were taken from a mass selection of these Hill of Grace ‘Grandfather Vines’ by Prue Henschke in 1989 and were planted as a 1-hectare nursery block, now producing Hill of Roses Shiraz.
The beautiful slopes of the Mount Edelstone Vineyard span 16 hectares and were planted in 1912, and The Wheelwright and Cyril Henschke Vineyards, are 3.7 hectares planted in the 1968, and 3.2 hectares planted in 1988 respectively.
Prue, a highly regarded botanist, environmentalist and viticulturist, has nurtured the Henschke vineyards and surrounding land with organic practices for the past forty years, and biodynamic practices for the past twenty years, dramatically improving the fruit quality as well as the vines’ resilience to weather extremes.
"This year we celebrate the 2021 vintage as one ‘Graced by An Ancient Land’,” says Prue. “The wines speak of the vineyards’ rich, red soils from an eroded mountain range, that have remained undisturbed in this protected pocket for over 500 million years.”
Metamorphosed mineral-rich sediments, or schists from the Precambrian period were originally deposited in a shallow sea, then deeply buried. Finally they were pushed high above the surface, where they weathered to produce a thick soil layer and the continentality of the Eden Valley region in the Mount Lofty Ranges,” Prue continues.
“The 2021 vintage will be considered a standout of the decade; remembered for complex wines with exceptional varietal expression, balance and purity, that speak of the ancient land from which they originate,” says Stephen Henschke, fifth-generation winemaker.
With a likeness to the high-quality vintages of 1986, 2002, 2005, and 2015, all of which were mild seasons, the 2021 single-vineyard wines show an impressive potential for long-term ageing in ideal cellaring conditions.”
The 2021 vintage will be released ahead of the minuscule 2020 vintage, which will be cellared for future release through the Henschke Museum and Rare Program. The 2021 single-vineyard wines will be released with four years of maturation, rather than five, however the Henschke family and winemaking team feel that this exceptional vintage has delivered a collection of wines that are approachable upon release, though they will continue to build more complexity over their cellaring potential of 30+ years.
“After such tiny vintages in 2019 and 2020, it is a relief to return to normal yields. The release of the 2021 single-vineyard wines marks our move to bottle all Henschke wines under the Stelvin screw cap closure. Sourcing locally made Stelvin closures and bottles helps us to minimise our impact on the environment, while at the same time ensuring the quality and consistency of the wines’ long-term ageing potential,” Stephen adds.
Henschke Hill of Grace, Hill of Roses, Mount Edelstone, The Wheelwright and Cyril Henschke 2021 will be available through fine wine retailers, restaurants and Henschke from Wednesday, 7 May 2025.
Henschke 2021 Hill of Grace
Reviews and Accolades
“A beguiling and lasting landmark Hill of Grace vintage with wonderful definition, vinosity and torque.”
100 points – Andrew Caillard MW, The Vintage Journal
“Knife-edge balance, incredible length, that creamy and seductive texture, silk tannins – this is an amazing wine which more than lives up to the hype. Well cellared examples should provide immense pleasure over the next forty to fifty years.”
100 points – Ken Gargett, Quill and Pad
“While its scale is breathtakingly impressive, there is thrilling elegance here, too. This is a spectacular wine from start to finish, with every molecule in its place. There is a complete directory of this vineyard’s flavours on display in this wine, seemingly cataloguing every nuance from the glorious, inaugural 1958 until the present day and delivering them in epic harmony. It seems to embrace its ancient history and communicate it in a thoroughly modern language… 2021 is a genuinely humbling wine, and it represents another chapter of wonder in the legend of this ancient land.”
20+/20 – Matthew Jukes, MatthewJukes.com
“Incredibly fresh and refined, with deeply brooding notes of dark plums, mocha, graphite, five spice and cured meat. The palate is ultra-refined and pure, with balanced acidity, seamlessly integrated tannins and a creamy texture…It is truly exceptional, and is an icon of Australia for a reason.”
99 points – Ryan Montgomery, JamesSuckling.com
“This release will go down in the annals of Australian fine wine as one of the classic releases for Hill of Grace…From the aromatic detail to the amplitude, purity and flow of fruit, the wine is absolutely on song with stunning length of flavour and presence on the palate, sailing away slowly with tight, fine-grained tannins and the most graceful of travels on the palate. An absolute classic for this wine.”
99 points – Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion
“A superb wine of intricate detail and elegance.”
99 points – Huon Hooke, The Real Review
“A good Hill of Grace is to be cherished, a great Hill of Grace venerated. This unquestionably is one of the greats.”
99 points – Nick Ryan, The Weekend Australian Magazine
“An exceptional year like 2021 is almost a law unto itself, one where anything is possible age-wise given both the complexity of the wine and its already seamless presence in the glass.”
99 points – Jeni Port, Wine Pilot
“I love the effortless, understated calm that it projects amidst profound concentration, heightened exoticism and mesmerising line. The exotic five spice signature of this revered site is more characterful than ever. These grand old vines set a texture so supple it's silky; its impossibly fine tannins at once caressing and at the same time enduring, carrying a finish unrelenting for more than a minute. True Grace in every sense.”
99 points – Tyson Stelzer, TysonStelzer.com
“Having tasted most of the Hill of Grace releases over the years, I reckon this will go down as one of the greatest. I don't think I have seen such a combination of poise and elegant refinement without compromising on the deep fruit concentration and power that is part of the vineyard DNA.”
99 points – Ray Jordan, Business News
“So much going on here! So sweet and richly medicinal initially and then amazingly fresh on the finish. Ambitious framework with the fruit bouncing off the beams of that framework. Lots of energy here. A baby, but a very beautiful one. 24 hours after opening the wine was still bedazzling…”
18++/20 – Jancis Robinson, JancisRobinson.com
“The palate is quite extraordinary, particularly the quality of tannins, pithy texture and strident composure, which drive a finish of extreme length and are all accented by deep minerality. The 2021 is a star in the making and easily the best vintage since 2018.”
98 points – Angus Hughson, Vinous
“It is pure and fine, with a languid pool of fruit that is characterized by black silty tannins and persistent, seamless length. This speaks of the ancient place, the rocks, the vines. This is just a magnificent, graceful wine here, one that is "immune to hyperbole," as they say.” 98 points – Erin Larkin, Robert Parker Wine Advocate “…subtle waves of flavour that roll over the palate, effortless balance and a finish that stretches towards infinity…it comes pretty darn close to perfection.”
98 points – Natasha Hughes MW, Decanter
