Henschke Hill of Grace Shiraz 2012

Deep, dark red with a good tint of purple and a classic Hill of Grace bouquet of blackberry, raspberry, blueberry and dried herbs, with the trademark hint of mulberry jam and a little forest floor. The palate is powerful, intense, concentrated, with more smoky oak than Hill of Roses, but it's been subtly handled. Remarkably supple, fine-grained tannins, gorgeous texture, tremendous length. There is great profundity but also elegance. A very stylish wine. It's at a far remove from the blockbuster Barossa style. A totally authentic vineyard wine: it could not be anything but Hill of Grace. As a new release Hill of Grace, this is as good a vintage as I've ever tasted. I suspect it will rate 99 points when mature.

One of the great iterations of this regal single-site wine. Very spicy, dried ground baking spices on the nose as well as dried sage leaves and other roasting herbs and a kind of wet chalky element too. Not the saturation and swagger of 2010 or 2009, a very tightly cut palate that's contained and reserved. Plenty of fine layers here and the sustained length is a real thing of marvel. The nose has all the blackberry and dark cherry fruits on offer with a wealth of fresh-roasted coffee, plums and blackberry. Tight and contained, real elegance with power and a long, fresh and even-handed finish. Best give this some time to fill out.

Gravitas. Depth of fruit. Lift, life and spice but a weightiness, an aristocratic presence. Hill of Grace Shiraz has a special place in Australian wine life but this is a particularly special release. There are myriad flavours and aromas on offer here. It’s entrancing. Fennel, blackberry, violets, ground spice, a lick of soy, flickers of light, purrs of dark. A rumble of firm, integrated, robust tannin. This is a great one.