Henschke unveils 05/06 Museum Release in UK

South Australian producer Henschke is launching a limited edition collector’s box of two “exceptional” back vintages of its iconic Hill of Grace in the UK.

The Henschke Hill of Grace 2005|2006 Museum Release Collector’s Box

The ‘Museum Release’ of 2005 and 2006 vintages of Hill of Grace, the highly collectible wine made from the Henschkes’ four-hectare old-vine Shiraz site in the Eden Valley, is being released to compensate for the family’s decision not to release a 2011 of Hill of Grace owing to unsatisfactory vintage conditions.

While the latest vintage release of Hill of Grace, the 2010, is the highest-rated of the last decade, 2011 followed 1960, 1974 and 2000 as years in which no Hill of Grace was produced. Just one barrel of the wine was produced in 2003, while “extremely tiny” quantities are set to be released from 2013 and 2014, according to winemaker Stephen Henschke.

The 2005 and 2006 vintages of Hill of Grace have both rated by Stephen and wife Prue Henschke as “exceptional”. Aimed primarily at collectors, the two wines “tell the story of a unique single vineyard [in] two distinct seasons”. They come presented in a custom-made wooden box with a booklet of stories, history, tasting notes, technical information and foreword by James Halliday.

Although the wines are being sold primarily as a package, buyers will have the option of purchasing each vintage separately.

“I think you just do get some of those vintages every now and again, and rather than have nothing, we prefer to offer something to people who have been supporting us for along time – restaurants and collectors who are really keen on the Hill of Grace story,” explained Johann Henschke, sixth-generation winemaker and heir to the estate.

“So that’s why we went back in to our cellar stock, and found some extra bottles to release. It’s a really lovely box which is specially designed for these two wines.

Johann Henschke explained how his family’s understanding of the evolution of wine under cork and Stelvin (screwcap) played a large part in the decision of which back vintages to release.

Henschke was one of the early advocates of Stelvin closures, first using them in 2001 and converting its entire range to Stelvin soon after. Stephen Henschke has since introduced Vinolok closures for some of his wines, including Hill of Grace, which has been under the closure since 2011.

“We put a lot of thought into what could be the right vintages to release as older wines, especially with our knowledge of cork,” Johann Henschke told the drinks business.

“With the knowledge of the corks not travelling well and this was a reasonable length of time to go back and show the progression of the two wines, We did a couple of events in Australia just recently where we re-released these wines and had good time showing them and seeing what the evolution is under screwcap.

Commenting on the profile of the 2005 and 2006 vintages of Hill of Grace, Henschke said that the wines were beginning to approach their “optimal drinking” stage and that, stylistically, the wines sat either side of the celebrated 2010 vintage.

“I think we can certainly see that the wines are rolling into the period of optimal drinking, and really starting to round off, but of course there is enough difference to make it an interesting story,” he said.

“With the 2010 being the slice right through the middle of the spectrum of style from the single vineyard which is Hill of Grace, I think the 2005 and 2006 sit either side of that mark and tell the story of some interesting vintages: 2005 being more like the 1998 in terms of having great maturity, a very nice, long window of picking because of the Indian summer style of harvest we had, and then the 2006, a slightly different style of vintage where the yield was reduced, and the vintage rolled around and became quite a short harvest, so we probably didn’t see the same level of tannin development as in the 2005.”

Henschke explained that it was important to the winery to be able to offer its loyal customers a taste of Hill of Grace even when no vintage of the wine was produced – a commitment made possible by the family’s decision to keep back a good amount of stock.

“As we moved into the 2000s, I think my father became a little bit more bullish, put more wine away,” he said. “I think it has been a really good strategy and it has worked well for a very long time. My grandfather started doing it back in the 60s and 70s, building his own cellar underground.

“Obviously holding a wine back before its releases… we hold this wine back as it is for two or three years in bottle before we do release it, but we also do from time to time release small parcels, especially in Australia, to to restaurants and key wine shops who have supported us.”

The Henschke Hill of Grace 2005/2006 Museum Release Collector’s Box is available as an extremely limited release of 85 bottles of each vintage through Enotria and Coe.

They can be purchased as a twin pack or as individual bottles. The twin pack is priced at £694.50, while the individual vintages are priced at £347.25 each.