Henschke Hill Of Grace 2021

100 points, Andrew Caillard MW, The Vintage Journal 2025
Medium deep crimson. Expressive raspberry, blackberry, cassis, hint elderberry/violet/ sage aromas with mocha, marzipan notes. Elegant yet powerful, dense but buoyant palate with ample blackberry pastille, blackcurrant, raspberry fruits, fine supple/ grainy tannins, lovely mid palate volume/ richness and superbly balanced grilled almond, roasted chestnut notes. Finishes claret firm with a featherweight plume of bittersweet tannins. A beguiling and lasting landmark Hill of Grace vintage with wonderful definition, vinosity and torque. 14.5% alc Drink 2028 – 2048.

99 points – Dave Brookes, The Wine Companion
This release will go down in the annals of Australian fine wine as one of the classic releases for Hill of Grace. With a strong vintage and even stronger pedigree, the gnarled old, circa 1860s-planted, shiraz vines have really come up with the goods with this release and as I sit to taste this wine with Stephen Henschke he shakes his head and says, “it just amazes me that my grandmother’s grandfather planted these vines”. The eagle-eyed will notice a skip in vintage. The yields were down horribly in 2020 across all the Henschke vineyards but man, did 2021 deliver. Super bright magenta/crimson in the glass with a wonderfully deep aromatic profile. Doris plum, blackberry and black cherry with hints of mace, sage, panforte, cedar, dark chocolate, tapenade, pepper, charcuterie, graphite, crushed quartz and violets. From the aromatic detail to the amplitude, purity and flow of fruit, the wine is absolutely on song with stunning length of flavour and presence on the palate, sailing away slowly with tight, fine-grained tannins and the most graceful of travels on the palate. An absolute classic for this wine.

99 points – Huon Hooke, The Real Review
Good depth of lightly purple-rimmed colour; the bouquet is a riot of dried herb scents from thyme to sage and oregano with smoky black pepper, vegetable stock, red and darker fruits including raspberry, dark plum and blackberry. The wine is full-bodied and flows evenly across the tongue, with an effortless intensity and suppleness of texture. Fine tannins are an important part of the very long, high-impact aftertaste. A superb wine of intricate detail and elegance.