Rhône Theme
Timed Online Auction, 2 - 12 February 2024
Rhône | International & South African offering
About the SessionThe first sale of the 2024 Strauss & Co Fine Wine Auction calendar is an exciting Rhône valley and Rhône-style offering and has fast-become one of the most popular at Strauss & Co Fine Wine Auctions.
About this Item
Six generations of Henschke’s have made wine on this iconic estate in the Eden Valley, South Australia, the first bottled as early as 1868. Production is focused around Shiraz, but also includes a myriad of wine styles and varieties grown in vineyard sites best suited to their unique characters. These sites include vineyards in the Barossa Valley and Adelaide Hills. The infamous Hill of Grace and Mount Edelstone are arguably the two oldest single vineyard Shiraz wines produced in Australia. Current winemaker, Stephen Henschke and his wife Prue run the estate with the help of their children, who will undoubtedly continue the family legacy.
The famous Hill of Grace vines are more than 50 years old. They were planted around the 1860s by an ancestor, Nicolaus Stanitzki, in rich alluvial soil in a shallow fertile valley just north-west of the winery. Hill of Grace is a unique, delineated, historic single vineyard that lies opposite a beautiful old Lutheran church which is named after a picturesque region in Silesia called Gnadenberg, meaning Hill of Grace.
Critics Ratings
‘Deep garnet-purple in color, the 1999 Hill of Grace presents fragrant notes of warm blackberries and black cherries with hints of menthol, dried thyme and sage, licorice, dark chocolate and black olives. Full-bodied, rich and powerful, it has firm, chewy tannins, crisp acid and a long finish. It is still very youthful in the mouth with lots of flavor layers. It is drinking well now and should continue to cellar through 2035+.’ - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Advocate, 97/100 (Apr 2013)
‘Dark blueish crimson. Relatively low-key nose. A little raw. Lots of winemaking work on the texture in evidence here but not that much aromatic distinction. Solid and with the pungency of South Australian Shiraz but pretty embryonic.’ - Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, 17.5/20 (Mar 2013)
'On the nose, the first aromas are of wheat bread, and a stably-animal character; after a few minutes in the glass, sweet plum and a little caramel steps in. I can't use the descriptors “subtle,” “lovely, chalky tannins” and “gorgeous, juicy fruit” enough. Finishes long and juicy, with those lovely, chalky tannins, plus caramel, mocha and mint flavors.' - Wine Enthusiast, 96/100 (Jan 2004)
Provenance
The Coats Family Cellar is arguably the most prestigious fine wine collection ever offered in South Africa. It contains a deep collection of the worlds finest, most sought-after wines, spanning over 150 years. Collected over many decades, the cellar was imported from Ireland to South Africa via reefer. Each bottle within the Coats Family Cellar was authenticated by Michael Egan in August 2022 and given an ID number for tracking.
Michael Egan is a world-expert in fine and rare wines with more than thirty five years of experience. He was the principal expert for the plaintiff in the two major wine counterfeiting trials in Koch v. Eric Greenberg and United States v. Rudy Kurniawan, both of which occurred in 2013.
Along with Michael Egan, the Strauss & Co Fine Wine team have tasted extensively through the cellar and are confident of the wine storage and hence quality. The entire collection is currently stored at Wine Cellar.
Michael Egan Authentication code - 1860
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