The precious old vines on Hill of Grace vines were planted to rich alluvial soils in a shallow fertile valley by Nicolaus Stanitzki during the 1860s. The vineyard lies opposite a beautiful old Lutheran Church, built of local field stone, which was euphoniously named Gnadenberg. The latter part of spring 1998 led into one of the hottest summers on record, with virtually no rain. The drought conditions resulted in smaller berry size producing spicy, dark intense reds. Tropical cyclones Elaine and Vance caused widespread botrytis problems requiring careful picking. The finished wine was matured in new French and American hogsheads for eighteen months prior to assemblage. Alcohol 14.3%