Hill of Grace 2013

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. It was a treat to sit down and taste through the new releases with Stephen Henschke, even as the newest generation of this historic Eden Valley family begins to take over more of the daily business routine. The broad range of offerings and release dates here means that there is always something to talk about, whether it's the latest vintage—"2017 was a spectacular year for whites"—or something a bit earlier, like the 2014 vintage, which he described as "longer, later, slower ripening, with a lot of elegance." As part of my effort to look at some of the 2008s at age ten, we also tried the 2008 Hill of Grace, which showed tremendously well, with another two decades ahead of it. Henschke remains a benchmark for Eden Valley.

Score: 97

Joe Czerwinski, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2022 - 2040 31 August 2018