Slight label damage

Vintage Description

The latter part of spring led into one of the hottest summers on record, with virtually no rain. The drought conditions resulted in smaller berry size, producing spicy, dark intense reds. Tropical cyclones Elaine and Vance brought unseasonal rains in mid-March, causing widespread botrytis problems requiring careful handpicking. 1999 proved to be another challenging vintage for Eden Valley although the final quality results made it worthwhile.

Wine Description

Dark crimson with violet hues. Delicate aromas of exotic spices, mature ripe fruits, molasses, bacon and roast meat nuances. The palate is richly fruited, concentrated and layered with fine-grained chewy tannins, elegant structure and a long, delicious finish.

Drinking Window: 2010-2035

Background

Over 165 years ago Johann Christian Henschke came from Silesia to settle and farm in the Eden Valley region. By the time third-generation Paul Alfred Henschke took over the reins in 1914, the famous Hill of Grace vines were more than 50 years old. They were planted around the 1860s by an ancestor, Nicolaus Stanitzki, in rich alluvial soil in a shallow fertile valley just north-west of the winery. The red-brown earth grading to deep silty loam has excellent moisture-holding capacity for these dry-grown vines, which sit at an altitude of 400m, with an average rainfall of 520mm. Hill of Grace is a unique, delineated, historic single vineyard that lies opposite a beautiful old Lutheran church which is named after a picturesque region in Silesia called Gnadenberg, meaning Hill of Grace. Cyril Henschke made the first single-vineyard shiraz wine from this vineyard in 1958 from handpicked grapes vinified in traditional open-top fermenters.