2018 Hill of Roses Shiraz

Full bottle just 1,210 g. A baby by Henschke standards, this comes from a single 0.94-ha block in the Hill of Grace vineyard planted with Shiraz vines that are a mere 29 years old and therefore regarded as too young to include in the Hill of Grace bottling. First produced in 2001 when the vines were 12 years old. Picked on 21 March and aged for 18 months prior to blending and bottling in French oak hogsheads of which 25% were new. pH 3.45, TA 5.76 g/l. Mid purplish crimson. Intense, high-toned but super-ripe nose. Hint of tamarind in the sweet/salt register. Perfectly managed tannins that are present but not dominant and an appetisingly dry (as opposed to sweet) finish. Lifted ripe, but carefully controlled, relatively cool Shiraz notes with a lovely gentle, savoury finish. Nothing bombastic about this. A real charmer. You could drink this tonight, so well disguised by the fruit are the tannins. Next time I have a sore throat, please pour this down it. Beautifully judged. (JR)

Made from a 29-year-old not-quite-a-hectare of Shiraz, planted with cuttings from the oldest vines at Hill of Grace; 18 months in French hogsheads, 25% new. This is a beautiful, seductive young Shiraz, with a very pretty perfume of bramble berries and a hint of the heady, dark-spice-bazaar and sweet-sage aromas so typical of this site. Intense, elegant and focused, it is utterly delicious without quite stretching to the depth and profundity of the Hill of Grace. (MA)