Henschke Hill of Grace named 2018 Halliday Wine of the Year

Henschke Hill of Grace 2012 was named 2018 Wine of the Year last night at the 2018 Qantas epiQure Halliday Wine Companion Awards.

While James Halliday gave both Penfolds Grange and Hill of Grace 99 points out of 100, he decided to hand the top award to Henschke.

“It’s one of those judgment calls," he said. "I wanted to make them both joint winners but the team said ‘no’ you have got to choose and really from that point on if I am not going to knock a point off Grange so it only gets 98 points and no one would really be wiser; that would have been a coward’s way out and inappropriate.’’ 

Fifth generation winemaker Stephen Henschke was thrilled with the award.

“Well of course, we are absolutely honoured and excited by it," he told The Australian. "I guess it’s really significant recognition for us, the enormous amount of work we do in the vineyards and a beautiful vineyard that goes back to the early pioneering days of South Australia; so it’s an amazing history." 

Henschke had an immediate sense he had harvested something special when he held the grapes that would become Hill of Grace 2012. 

“When we are out in the vineyards we can see the balance, we knew, wow, this is looking really good, the flavour, the balance and it gives you a pretty good guide, and once it is in the winery it’s a pretty reassuring sign,’’ he said.

“But people really say you don’t really know until you have it in the farm, tank or the barrels … but in this case it just looked absolutely magic.’’

Yarra Valley dominates the awards

Victoria's Yarra Valley took out the three of the six major categories at the Awards, lead by Mount Mary as the 2018 winery of the year.

Established by the late John Middleton in 1971, Mount Mary is still family owned and run, with John’s son David CEO of the company, and his grandson Sam the chief winemaker.

Halliday noted: “The 2015 vintage in the Yarra Valley was, quite simply, great, and Sam took full advantage of it, making exquisite wines.” 

“It’s a huge honour for us, we’re really rapt with it to be honest,” Sam said. “My grandfather believed that the Yarra was more suited to smaller boutique, high-quality makers better than bigger producers. It’s harder for smaller producers to stay current, but 45 years later this award is an indication of what we can achieve.”

Dappled Wines was named Best New Winery, helmed by Shaun Crinion.

The Weekly Review notes: "Of all the winners at James Halliday’s Wine Companion awards, Shaun Crinion is the most unlikely. Winner of the Best New Winery category with his label Dappled, Shaun is a stay-at-home dad and part-time winemaker.
“Vintage is hard," he said. "Pretty much I tell my wife we need to get a nanny for the next three months, or we get her mother down from the Gold Coast.”

Meanwhile, Boat O'Craigo won the 2018 Dark Horse of the Year award.  

Winemaker of the Year goes to Paul Hotker

Paul Hotker of Bleasdale in South Australia's Langhorne Creek won Winemaker of the Year.

Halliday said he chose Hotker based on the huge haul of show medals Bleasdale has scored in the past two years, including eight trophies from five separate shows in 2015, then another five in 2016 for one wine alone, the Bleasdale 2015 Wellington Road Grenache Shiraz. The winery won two more for its Second Innings Malbec.

Hotker was praised for making wines in a modern, medium-bodied style.

“We’re eating more fresh foods, cooked quickly – even meat is served a bit rarer – and younger, fresher wines suit that style of cuisine,” Hotker told Adelaide Now. “We’re getting back to our roots and making good, fresh-fruit-style wines, and the trend all over is to capture freshness in wines.

“The major show-circuit judges are looking for it, and our sales figures indicate that people want to drink fresher styles.”

Hotker also noted neither he nor Bleasdale nor Langhorne Creek are among the “cool kids” of the wine industry.

“We’re a conservative wine business simply doing the best we can,” he said.

Rounding out the awards, Best Value Winery went to Grosset Wines. 

The 2018 Halliday Wine Companion is published by Hardie Grant in paperback (RRP$39.99). Click here for further details. 

Extended profiles of the winners can be found at winecompanion.com.au and in the next issue of Halliday Wine Companion magazine, on newsstands from early September.