The acclaimed Henschke family, foundation members of Australia’s First Families of Wine, was one of the pioneering families of South Australia when Johann Christian Henschke migrated from Silesia (Germany in 1841). Each generation has contributed to the legend with fourth-generation Cyril Henschke pioneering varietal, single-vineyard wines in the 1950s, most famously Mount Edelstone and Hill of Grace Shiraz. Fifth-generation winemaker Stephen and his viticulturist wife Prue have won many awards for their talent, innovation, and integration of vineyard and winery. They lead the way with environmental, biodynamic, and organic principles. Henschke wines are handcrafted and deeply personal, reflecting the unique terroir of vineyards: the wine names tell either a personal story of the family or the cultural history of their region.

The riesling takes its name from a local landmark, Peggy’s Hill, at the top of the range between Eden Valley and Keyneton. Produced from selected traditional Henschke Eden Valley growers, whose vines are up to 50 years old, growing in low-vigour ancient Cambrian soils at around 500m altitude. The Eden Valley riesling displays exceptional varietal and regional characteristics.

The winter of 2021 brought good rainfall to refill soil profiles and a cool, slow start to the growing season resulted in budburst occurring two weeks later than average. An extreme hail event on 28 October decimated the young growth across our vineyards in Keyneton and significant crop potential was lost. Late flowering (late November/early December) avoided the cold and windy conditions, resulting in good fruit set, albeit smaller yields. A burst of summer heat without any extremes supported berry development and balanced canopy growth. Welcome rain in late January kicked off veraison and ripening, providing a mild and dry finish to summer. 2022 was a ‘late’ vintage with harvest dates 1-2 weeks later than the historical average. The resulting wines have great elegance with excellent aromatic and flavour intensity, bright acidity and wonderful ageing potential.