Hewitson "Old Garden" Mourvèdre 2021 – Barossa Valley, South Australia

97/100 Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion
95/100 Stuart Knox, The Real Review
94/100 Erin Larkin, The Wine Advocate
93/100 Ned Goodwin MW
92/100 Annette Lacey MW, Wine Pilot
Bronze - Christina Pickard, Wine Enthusiast

96/100 Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion (2020 vintage)
92/100 Erin Larkin, The Wine Advocate (2020 vintage)
92/100 Stuart Knox, The Real Review (2020 vintage)
96/100 James Suckling (2019 vintage)
95/100 Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion (2019 vintage)
93/100 Huon Hooke, The Real Review (2019 vintage)
98/100 James Suckling (2018 vintage)
96/100 James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion (2018 vintage)
95/100 Erin Larkin, The Wine Advocate (2018 vintage)
95/100 Huon Hooke, The Real Review (2018 vintage)
96/100 James Suckling (2017 vintage)
95/100 Ralph Kyte-Powell, The Real Review (2017 vintage)

5 Star Winery - James Halliday
James Suckling Top 100 Top Value Wine 2020
James Halliday Top 100 Winery 2017
10 Vineyards Behind The World's Most Famous Wines - Wine Enthusiasts

Gold - Paris Wine Cup 2023
Gold - Paris Wine Cup 2022
Gold - Paris Wine Cup 2021
Gold - Paris Wine Cup 2020

Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion "Dean Hewitson is the custodian of the oldest mourvèdre vineyard in the world, planted 1853. That's bonkers, right?! The aromatic profile is compelling, magnetic. There is the impression that there's something special going on here. Gentle red and dark berry fruits flow from the glass along with a cornucopia of spice, dried herbs, charcuterie, clove, rhubarb, pressed flowers, leather, cedar, pepper and earth. Travels like silk, like the smoothest bearings you can imagine. Seamless. Long, woodsy, meaty and without peer when it comes to mourvèdre in this country. Superb."

Stuart Knox, The Real Review "Deep ruby and purple colours. Blood plum, vanilla bean and bresaola aromatics. Rich and ripe plum fruits fill the mouth with savoury layers of dusty earth and boudin noir. Tannins work hard to drive from the background and do it successfully, so it glides with power and focus to a very long and feathering finish"

Erin Larkin, The Wine Advocate "The 2021 Old Garden Mourvèdre is from vines planted in 1853, acknowledged as being the oldest Mourvèdre vineyard on the planet. On own roots, these vines in 2024 have endured more than 17 decades in the ground, through untold human trials and tribulations, to bring us the fruit that we have here today. It is momentous, and it bears thinking about when we consider the significance of old-vine fruit in modern cuvées. Aromatically, the wine leads with Amaro herbs and dark chocolate, some dampness reminiscent of underground—moss and lichen perhaps—raw cocoa, bay leaf, chewing tobacco, mulberry, iodine and freshly turned earth. In the mouth, the wine is thick with tannin but fortified by less oak than I would have expected—a fine thing—which allows the fruit to hero the piece. It's certainly a concentrated, substantial wine, but the flavor is borne by fruit, not vessel. This is magnificent."

Ned Goodwin MW "Old vines servicing full-weighted extract, impact and a welcome savoriness. Cherry liqueur, menthol, smoked meats, camphor and polished leather. The tannins, the latticework of sanity and structure, constrain a tip into excess. I like this wine. The old vine sourcing, formidable. Yet the oak is varnishy and sweet. Local cooperage? I am scoring this with the benefit of the doubt."

Annette Lacey MW, Wine Pilot "Planted 1853, these are the oldest Mourvèdre vines on planet, ungrafted, pre phylloxera vines dry farmed by the same family, where every vine is the original 1853 planting. That is unbelievable!!! So much history in your glass. This is one intense Mourvèdre, a seriously solid wine with dense mulberry and blackberry fruit that is almost impenetrable. A considerable amount of whole bunch at 85%, combined with licks of oak around the edges allows the wine to unfurl in the glass. Reminded me of Chinese salted plum, the tang with sweetness. Vanilla oak gives sweet oak tannins that are ripe but chewy so need time to integrate. The wine is juicy, plush and flavoursome but a king-size mouthful, needing time."

Christina Pickard, Wine Enthusiast "Heady spice, mint and a good lick of mocha oak influence all mingle with succulent blueberry and raspberry aromas. It's plump, round and silky with a soft underbelly of spicy tannins. A winter warming wine for pouring now and over the next few years."

Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion "The 1853-planted Old Garden vineyard is thought to be the oldest mourvèdre vineyard in the world. Eight years ago I spoke at a symposium in Alicante and took along a bunch of Australian mourvèdre/mataro to show the winemakers and journos. This particular wine caused quite a stir, and the overwhelming response was that the Australian examples of the variety looked more European than European wines. It shows such amazing balance, tension and detail ... all meaty dark and black fruits, exotic spice, biscuity oak and amaro herbs. Savoury and wild, it is the benchmark for the variety in Australia for good reason." (2020 vintage)

Erin Larkin, The Wine Advocate "The Old Garden vineyard was planted in 1853, and these are the same ungrafted vines that were planted 170 years ago. Hailing from the warm, low-yielding 2020 season, this 2020 Old Garden Mourvèdre is showing so much more oak than I was expecting. Earthy mulberries, ferrous, iodine and blackcurrant are buried inside an oak casket. Charry, resinous, sticky chai spice defines the oak, with a malt/Ovaltine quality in the mouth. The tannins are gritty and intense... perhaps all of this is a reflection of the growing season and the experience and travails of these old vines. While this may well come together in time, for now this is too gritty and oak-framed for my taste. I'm here for the fruit. 14% alcohol, sealed under Diam." (2020 vintage)

Stuart Knox, The Real Review "Deep ruby red in the glass. Mulberry, dark chocolate and cola aromatics. Rich and powerful on the palate, purple fruits are intense with dark cola spices and a nut oil undertone. Tannins have ample grip to match that weight but for now a little unresolved. Long and persistent to the finish. Needs some time for that tannin profile to settle" (2020 vintage)

Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion "This 1853-planted block is considered the oldest mourvèdre vineyard in the world – when you consider the bloodline, this wine is a bargain. Fermented with 65% whole bunches and matured for 18 months new French oak barriques. The fruit is plush and deep, plummy and dark and studded with wild-eyed exotic spice, pressed flowers, earth, biscuity oak and whole-bunchy lift and top notes. The tannins are super fine and the oak notes swell on the palate, but the fruit is up for it, lingering persistently on the finish with trademark savouriness." (2019 vintage)

James Suckling "Planted in 1853, this is an intensely spicy edition of this ancient vine parcel. There’s an earthy edge, dried flowers and cedar with orange zest and blueberries. The palate has a rich vein of ripe, spicy, sweet-fruit flavors of forest wood, blueberries and leafy elements. Rich berry and plum finish, long tannins and sweet oak to close. Complex, thanks to 60% whole bunches." (2019 vintage)

Huon Hooke, The Real Review "Deep-ish red with a trace of purple, the bouquet dominated by charcoal / cold fireplace aromas at first, with air tending walnutty, seemingly oak derived, the palate formidable with stern tannins leading to a forbidding grip in the finish. Increasingly peppery the longer it was in the glass. Time needed. There's no doubt about its concentration or depth of flavour. Chocolate, mocha, vanilla and coconut oak in abundance. The overall impression is of a solid red that demands cellaring and could richly repay the patient." (2019 vintage)

James Suckling "From a single plot of 1853 vines, this has striking grey-stone and gravel aromas with some flinty notes, as well as violets, pepper, leaves, orange zest and pot-pourri. The complexity is very delicately nuanced around fresh blueberries and cherries. The palate has striking intensity and depth. Very low yields are driving rich flavors of blueberries and red plums. Such sleek, smooth tannins hold so long. Wow. Drink over the next 20 years." (2018 vintage)

James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion "Every vine is part of Friedrich Koch's bush-pruned 1853 planting, the oldest in the world. A positively juicy wine, with exotic spices woven through the collage of red fruits, large and small, and its superfine tannins. Oak also makes a contribution." (2018 vintage)

Erin Larkin, The Wine Advocate "This hand-tended, bush vine vineyard is thought to be the oldest planting of Mourvèdre on own roots in the world. 2018 was a sensational vintage in the Barossa—the wines across the board have been imbued with vitality, ripeness and intensity. This 2018 Old Garden Mourvèdre is all of that, but there is a tobacco-esque leafiness that ensures levity on the palate. The flavors undulate through the finish long after the wine has gone, showing the concentration and longevity (in every sense) of old vines. This vineyard is a truly remarkable historical landmark that continues to produce fruit to this day. I think it's the texture that makes this great: it is silky, supple and smooth... all the way through the finish." (2018 vintage)

Huon Hooke, The Real Review "Deep, bright red/purple hue. The bouquet is earthy, smoky, savoury and gently spicy. The wine is intense and full-bodied, bright and alive, with both concentration and charm. Fruit sweetness is abundant, neatly balanced by ample soft, fine, drying tannins. Hints of chocolate and mocha. Excellent ripeness. A very smart wine indeed." (2018 vintage)

James Suckling "This is sourced from a parcel of vines that were planted in 1853. The cooler and wetter 2017 vintage has swayed this into a distinctively fragrant zone with violet, blueberry and wild-herb accents, as well as some stony, gravely accents amid spicy oak. The palate has some real depth and plush blueberry and plum flavors. Such smooth-honed, seamless, almost pastry-like layering of tannin and blue-fruit flavors. Kicks fresh with sapid-fruit presence on the finish. A flurry of oak spice to close. Around 45% whole bunches. Superb. Drink over the next 20 years." (2017 vintage)

Ralph Kyte-Powell, The Real Review "These low-yielding ancient vines give great concentration, depth, flavour integration and tannin ripeness to the finished wine. In this example it’s expressed via a harmonious, super-complex personality, built on seamlessly combined ripe berry and plum fruit, floral scents, dark-chocolatey richness, varietal spice and ironstone earthiness, all robed in an appropriate measure of nutty, vanillin oak. In the mouth, it’s seamless, full-bodied, juicy and powerful, yet not aggressive. The tannins are in balance, tangy acidity gives real zest. Although a big wine, this has a lovely supple succulence that sets it apart from many of its Barossa old vine peers." (2017 vintage)

Australian Wine Companion "Established in 1998 Hewitson winery is situated in the heart of the Barossa Valley on the historic Seppeltsfield Road and boasts some of the oldest vines in the world. Hewitson fruit is sourced from historic, dry-grown vineyards in the Barossa Valley and also from single-site vineyards in Eden Valley, McLaren Vale and the Adelaide Hills."

Frederick Wildman "Dean Hewitson founded his eponymous winery in 1998. He is a highly respected Australian winemaker ...Hewitson has worked at wineries in Australia, France, Italy and Oregon. Hewitson then moved to the U.S. where he earned a Masters from UC-Davis. On his return home, Dean brought a wealth of knowledge, practical experience and a driving passion to produce wines not only from Barossa Valley but also from the McLaren Vale and the Adelaide Hills regions.

Hewitson fundamentally believes great wines are the expression of the soils they are grown in and the season in which they are grown. With his longstanding focus on terroir—specific terroir plots in fact—many of Hewitson’s wines are single vineyard. He sources grapes from not only his own vineyards but also from long-standing grower contracts including a few sourced from some of the oldest living, still productive vines on plots that date back to the mid-19th century and are pre-phylloxera. His ‘Old Garden’ Mourvèdre is a single-vineyard wine, whose vines were planted in 1853 in Barossa Valley and are reputed to be the oldest Mourvèdre vines in the world. Hewitson’s ‘Miss Harry’ is sourced from a Grenache vineyard planted in 1880, also thought to be the oldest Grenache in existence.

Due to Hewitson’s education and experience in Australia, California and France, Hewitson wines combine Old-World traditions with New-World fruit purity. And while he clearly excels with Rhône Valley grape varieties, Hewitson also produces award-winning Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc. A practitioner in solar energy, water recycling and encouraging natural biodiversity, Hewitson produces wines in an environmentally sustainable fashion."

James Halliday "Dean Hewitson was a winemaker at Petaluma [one of Australia's leading wineries] for 10 years, during which time he managed to do three vintages in France and one in Oregon as well as undertaking his Masters at the University of California, Davis. It is hardly surprising that the wines are immaculately made from a technical viewpoint. Dean sources 30-year-old Riesling from the Eden Valley and 70-year-old shiraz from McLaren Vale; he also makes a Barossa Valley Mourvedre from vines planted in 1853 at Rowland Flat, and Barossa Valley Shiraz and Grenache from 60-year-old vines at Tanunda."

The Barossa Valley is an extremely important wine-producing region within the Barossa zone of South Australia, particularly associated with powerful red wines from the red wine grape variety Shiraz. A prestigious and internationally renowned region, it is not only home to some of the oldest vineyards and wineries in Australia but produces some of its most recognizable and sought-after brands. A striking feature of the Barossa Valley's wine landscape is the presence of very old vines, proudly showcased on many wine labels and during vineyard tours.

Mourvedre is a black-skinned variety that has been grown in vineyards all around the western Mediterranean for centuries. Thought to have originated in Spain, it is now grown extensively throughout the Iberian Peninsula, southern France, California and South Australia. Single-variety Mourvedre or Monastrell wines are not particularly common, but as the curiosity of the average wine consumer increases, so more and more producers are experimenting with making wines from 100 per cent Mourvedre.