2019 Hill of Grace: ‘A Vintage Graced by The Nurturer’
The Henschke family is pleased to announce the global launch of its prized 2019 Single Vineyard Release from the Eden Valley on Wednesday, 1 May 2024. This highly anticipated collection includes Hill of Grace Shiraz, Mount Edelstone Shiraz, The Wheelwright Shiraz and Cyril Henschke Cabernet Sauvignon.
The wines from 2019 are of outstanding quality with wonderful flavour concentration and incredible power, excellent balance and seamless, mature tannins that reveal impressive length and depth.
Stephen Henschke, fifth-generation winemaker.
As single-vineyard wines they are limited by the size of the site, as well as how the season unfolds. The most precious and ancient of the Henschke vineyards, the Hill of Grace, is just 4 hectares of old-vine shiraz with the first vines planted around 1860. The beautiful slopes of the Mount Edelstone Vineyard span 16 hectares and were planted in 1912, while The Wheelwright and Cyril Henschke Vineyards, planted from the 1960s, are 4.8 hectares combined.
2019 was a trying season, even for Stephen’s wife Prue, a highly regarded botanist, environmentalist and viticulturist. While the hands of many generations have nurtured these vineyards, Stephen believes the family has been blessed by Prue’s incredible contribution. “Her dedication to nurturing the land and regenerating our vineyards and soils with organic and biodynamic practices over the past forty years has been vital. Prue has dramatically improved the fruit quality as well as vine resilience to weather extremes,” he says.
“This year we celebrate Prue’s enduring commitment to the health of these vineyards; nominating the 2019 vintage as one graced by The Nurturer.” says Stephen.
Prue says there were many challenges to meet in 2019. “With a warm and dry start to the season, a blanket of rich compost and mulch under the vines was especially important to keeping the roots cool and preserving soil moisture through summer. Due to wind, frost, hail and the hottest summer’s day on record, we worked hard to protect the precious bunches remaining; and when the weather cooled we lifted the canopy to allow sunlight to build deep colour, flavour complexity and silky tannins.”
“Although the yields were minuscule, the quality produced by these old vines shines through. Our love and nourishment in the vineyard has been returned in the wines,” Prue added.
2019 is comparable to vintages such as 1966, 1977, 1983, 1995, 2008 and 2013, all of which were warm and dry seasons that produced small, but extremely high-quality yields.
Stephen Henschke
To complement the 2019 single-vineyard wines, the Henschke family will jointly release two museum wines directly from their cellars: 2008 Hill of Grace Shiraz and 2013 Mount Edelstone Shiraz.
“While these three vintages; 2019, 2013 and 2008 all produced excellent wines in their own right, they share a common thread – warm, dry seasons that resulted in extremely high-quality yields with an outstanding ability to age.
This is a rare opportunity to experience a unique collection of our acclaimed single-vineyard wines, that offers a rich taste of three vintages from our 150 years of Henschke family winemaking history.
Stephen Henschke
Henschke Hill of Grace 2019, Mount Edelstone 2019, The Wheelwright 2019, Cyril Henschke 2019, 2008 Hill of Grace and 2013 Mount Edelstone will be available through fine wine retailers, restaurants and Henschke from Wednesday, 1 May 2024.
