Hill of Grace 2013

Hill of Grace on Australian kuuluisin nimetty viinitarha. Sen köynnökset istutettiin vuonna 1860 Nicolaus Stanitzkin toimesta ja vuonna 1891 Paul Gotthard Henschke hankki sen omistukseensa. Henschen Hill of Gracen ensimmäinen kaupallinen vuosikerta oli 1958. Tarha sijaitsee 400 metrin korkeudella Barossa-laakson itäpuolella Eden Valley alueella. Tarhan Shiraz-köynnökset ovat yli 150 vuotiaita ja ne kasvavat hiekkapitoisessa savimaassa.Nimi Hill of Grace on käännös saksankielisestä Gnadenberg (armon kukkula) ja sen taustalla on suvun juuret Sleesiassa, nykyisen Puolan lounaisosassa. 97/100p Wine Advocate: 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.

97/100p James Suckling: A dry season with reduced yields, but all the DNA is here with a rich array of baking spices permeating ripe blackberries, red berries and plums. Chocolate, plum cake, currants, freshly turned and loamy earth and dried sage leaves, too. Very complex. The palate´s smoothly arranged around the fine, long tannins that carry a concentrated core of blackberries, tarry, dark stony flavors, ripe blood plums and a long trail of deeply spicy warmth through the finish. Hints of mocha and expresso to close. Elegant, complex and complete. This is very approachable now. Typically though, it´s a wine that is best drunk at 20 or more years from vintage.