2013 Hill of Grace Shiraz

100% Shiraz from pre-phylloxera material brought from Europe by the early settlers in the mid 1800s. The Grandfather vines were planted in Parrot Hill around 1860 by Nicolaus Stanitzki on a plot of rich, red-brown alluvial soil with silty loam. A couple of years prior to that, August Henschke had bought land at Parrot Hill in the Eden Valley, donating a corner of his acreage for the Gnadenberg (Hill of Grace) Lutheran Church to be built on. The vineyard took its name from the church (rather more poetic than Parrot Hill!). In 1891, the Henschkes bought the vineyard. In another twist of fate, Stephen’s grandmother was the daughter of Nicolaus Stanitzki! (She had 12 children, the youngest was his father, Cyril). 1958 was the first vintage of the single-vineyard Hill of Grace wine. A hot vintage. Dry-grown vines at 400 m. Hand picked from 21 February to 7 March. ‘We pick Hill of Grace always on the full moon of Easter. No matter what the year is like, somehow the grapes are ready for picking on the harvest moon – every single year. We try to follow the biodynamic calendar but that vineyard more than any other seems to be moon-cycle driven.’ pH 3.56, acidity 5.92 g/l. Aged in 86% French and 14% American oak hogsheads (56% new) for 18 months. Aged in bottle for around four years. 2013 is the latest vintage, released in September 2018. Salty. Inky. And so spicy! Savoury, umami, yet with sweetness. Salted dates and dried blueberries and then these waves of spice that seem to reverberate through the belly of the wine. Power and melody, like a cello playing over the war-like roll of kettle drums. Thyme and dried wild herbs packed into a powerfully concentrated wine that is still so very coiled up. (TC)

Another terrific HoG, the 2013 Hill of Grace Shiraz is dense and rich, thickly concentrated and full-bodied yet not heavy or bulky in the slightest. It's kept lively through a fine dusting of savory spices—allspice, clove, star anise—and juicy, mouthwatering acids, which support the blackberry and plum fruit. The finish, framed by softly dusty and supple tannins, suggests a wine capable of at least two decades of positive evolution.