Critic Scores:

• 99+ pts – Ray Jordan, Wine Pilot
• 99 pts – Erin Larkin, The Wine Advocate
• 99 pts – Tony Love, The Vintage Journal
• 99 pts – Tyson Stelzer, WBM Wine Business Magazine
• 98 pts – Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion
• 98 pts – Nick Ryan, The Weekend Australian Magazine
• 98 pts – Andrew Caillard MW, The Vintage Journal
• 98 pts – Huon Hooke, The Real Review
• 98 pts – Jamie Goode, Wine Anorak 
• 98 pts – Ken Gargett, Wine Pilot
• 98 pts – Jeni Port, The Vintage Journal
• 98 pts – Tom Kline, Wine Pilot
• 97 pts – Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front
• 18++/20 – Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com
• 19.5+/20 – Matthew Jukes, MatthewJukes.com

The 2022 Hill of Grace rises from one of the wine world's most hallowed sites — four hectares of ungrafted, pre-phylloxera Shiraz vines beside the Gnadenberg Lutheran church in the Eden Valley, the oldest planted around 1860 and tended under organic and biodynamic stewardship by fifth-generation winemaker Stephen Henschke and viticulturist Prue Henschke. The season was defined by cool temperatures, a late harvest and constrained yields — a combination that produced a wine of unusual freshness, aromatic clarity and structural composure.

The critical response has been exceptional. Ray Jordan of Wine Pilot awarded 99+ points, declaring it may well be "the prettiest Hill of Grace yet released" — a statement of extraordinary weight from a critic who has tasted nearly every vintage since 1958. Erin Larkin of The Wine Advocate matched that enthusiasm with 99 points, finding a wine of exotic spice, dark berry depth and beautifully coiled tannins that she considers a sleeper vintage certain to reward long cellaring. Dave Brookes of the Halliday Wine Companion (98 pts) found fruit, tannin and acidity in complete accord, the palate arc "perfectly timed. Stunning."

Deep and luminous in the glass, the bouquet is complex and multi-layered: dark and blue berries entwined with bay leaf, sage, five-spice, cedar, graphite, cinnamon, fennel seed and violet florals.

The palate is dense yet not heavy — a coiled architecture of fine-grained tannins, lively acidity and concentrated dark fruit that builds progressively and finishes with remarkable persistence and length. Nick Ryan of The Weekend Australian Magazine (98 pts) described it as a wine of "layered complexity" and an "exquisite tapestry" of tannin, while Campbell Mattinson (97 pts, The Wine Front) captured its essential character simply: "bold and fresh and aromatic." Matured for 20 months in seasoned French oak hogsheads, the élevage is measured and unobtrusive, allowing the ancient vineyard to speak without interference. A Hill of Grace of enduring power and uncommon grace, built to evolve across many decades.