Founders Keith and Alison Hentschke had a single vision to craft exceptional single-estate wines from the Barossa Valley. In 1997, after consulting with local winemakers and viticulturalists, who told them to 'Head north-west (Barossa) and look for the red/brown soil over limestone'. They used an old soil map from the 1950s to strategically locate the best parcels of land and discovered a mixed farmed property with remarkable diversity which would become Hentley Farm.
Keith's experience and expertise as an agricultural scientist drove him to understand the land before planting. He collaborated with local viticulturalists and set about digging 40 soil pits around the property. The extreme diversity of soil, aspect and altitude he discovered provided both an opportunity and a challenge which required meticulous planning for the layout of the vineyards.
Dividing the single vineyard in to nine "viticultural blocks" based on similar soil type, aspect and climate. Each block was then further divided into a collection of rows, depending on changes in the soil, aspect and micro climates.
The blocks were planted to Shiraz (70%), Grenache (17%), Cabernet Sauvignon (10%), Zinfandel (2%) and a small parcel of Viognier(0.5%).
From 2008, Winemaker Andrew Quin has blended this meticulous viticultural planning with modern
winemaking to craft wines that perfectly balance the vibrancy of fruit, elegance of soft velvety tannins and flavour richness distinctive of the exceptional site.
Hentley Farm has cemented its position as one of Australia's leading boutique wineries with accolades from across the globe. A story of vineyard and vintage being told with every release of wines which are restricted in volume by the boundaries of the estate and vintage conditions.