99 POINTS
Huon Hooke - The Real Review
Very deep, concentrated brick-red colour of appropriate maturity, the bouquet dominated by earthy/forest-floor savoury tertiary aromas with old leather armchairs, terracotta and dried porcini mushroom aromas to the fore. A subtle trace of licorice. Sumptuous palate flavour, with masses of tannin but also a core of sweet fruit endures. The finish is energetic and driving, the aftertaste lingers on for an eternity. A majestic mature shiraz in the prime of lts life. A great wine!
99 POINTS
Christina Pickard - Wine Enthusiast
Because the 2019 vintage was so small, Henschke has offered up a few museum releases of vintages that were similar climactically to ‘19. This is a rare opportunity to taste the evolution of Australia's most famous single-vineyard wine— and what a sexy one it is. With shades of brick starting at its edges, the heady aromatics of a wine in its second decade of transformation are immediately apparent: spiced macerated cherries and blackberries, mocha, the cracked spines of old books, raw beef and hoisin-glazed mushrooms. It's silky in the mouth, the tannins still firm and powdery, but softening, curving into the folds of the wine, a spiced meat nuance lingering on the long finish.
Terrific colour and depth. Nose has almost bottomless depth and richness: very very dark spice and dark plum fruit aromas with baking spices and fragrant exotic Eastern spice notes. Plenty of baking spice here too. The palate has immensely supple and deep, dense tannins; terrific strength and length; and layers of ripe, rich dark plum and cherry fruit flavor. Tannins drive sheet-like through the palate and deliver long and juicy. The oak is beautifully matched, and there's a super creamy graphite-tinged impression with an immense future ahead.
Excellent vintage. A much anticipated wine that has terrific colour and depth, the nose has almost bottomless depth and richness, very very dark spice and dark plum fruit aromas with baking spices and fragrant exotic Eastern spice notes, plenty of baking spice here too, a very composed wine. The palate has immensely supple and deep, dense tannins, terrific strength and length and layers of ripe, rich dark plum and cherry fruit flavour. Tannins drive sheet-like through the palate and deliver long and juicy, the oak is beautifully matched and there's a super creamy graphite-tinged impression with an immense future ahead. Drink in 2030.
98 POINTS
Halliday Wine Companion
Deep purple-crimson, even after five years. It is explosively rich and decadent, with oceans of sumptuous black fruits which have soaked up the new and used French oak, and carry the alcohol with contemptuous ease. The grapes were picked early each morning between March 9 and March 13, after the heatwave had started, but before its conclusion. Each block was separately made and matured, and the final blend is not made until shortly before bottling.
98 POINTS
Dave Brookes - Halliday Wine Companion
We are indeed lucky to get a 2008 Hill of Grace from the Museum & Rare program this year, which is largely due to the paltry volumes of the current 2019 wine (due to low yields). It was a stinking hot vintage in the Barossa. Prue Henschke had been farming the site biodynamically for a few years by that stage, employing composts and mulching practices that had a positive impact in a stressful, hot year. That and she got the grapes off Hill of Grace before the major heat event. It is in a terrific place with gentle red fruits and layers of complex fine spice, sage, leather, tobacco and intriguing tertiary characters coming into play along with gentle oak spice and a dab of milk chocolate. Comforting, graceful and long of finish. The interplay of characters is constantly evolving in the glass and it is in great form at this stage of its evolution.
97 POINTS
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW - Robert Parker Wine Advocate
Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2008 Hill of Grace has a slightly closed nose before giving subtle notes of ripe black cherries, blackberries and violets with hints of cedar, pepper, green tea and cumin. There's a slight raisin character on the full-bodied palate with crisp acid, dense fruit and firm, grainy tannins, finishing long. Drink it from 2017 to 2035+.
97 POINTS
Joe Czerwinski - Robert Parker Wine Advocate
According to Stephen Henschke, the 2008 Hill of Grace Shiraz was among the earlier picks that vintage, avoiding the worst of the heatwave that followed. It was never the most elegant or perfumed vintage, but it's rich and creamy, loaded with mocha and blackberry flavors. Full-bodied and intense, it remains rather big and muscular, with a slightly coarse but tremendously long finish. It could go another 20 years in a cool cellar.
