Hewitson "Madame M Blanc & Blanc" 2023 – Adelaide Hills, South Australia

92/100 Sam Kim, Wine Orbit
92/100 Ray Jordan, Wine Pilot
91/100 Ken Gargett, Wine Pilot
91/100 Regan Drew, Wine Pilot
91/100 Melissa Moore, Wine Pilot
90/100 Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion
91/100 Ray Jordan, Wine Pilot (2022 vintage)
91/100 Regan Drew, Wine Pilot (2022 vintage)
90/100 Ken Gargett, Wine Pilot (2022 vintage)
90/100 Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion (2022 vintage)

5 Star Winery - James Halliday
James Suckling Top 100 Top Value Wine 2020
James Halliday Top 100 Winery 2017

Sam Kim, Wine Orbit "Brightly fruited and elegantly fragrant, the bouquet shows crunchy apple, green pear and lemon peel aromas with a floral overtone. It's juicy and refreshing in the mouth offering vibrant fruit flavours with crisp acidity, finishing lingering and tasty."

Ray Jordan, Wine Pilot "Ah, bring on spring and summer. Hewitson gets his inspiration from the Mediterranean coasts of Spain and Southern Italy with this distinctive and thoroughly gluggable blend of Muscat Blanc Petits Grains and Sauvignon Blanc. Light and fragrant with a cute mix of muscat and orange peel with a slightly edgy cut grass hint around the place before a dry and clean finish. A wine with character, which means you probably don’t have to wait until summer to be drinking it."

Ken Gargett, Wine Pilot "The team used free run juice only, with six months ageing in stainless steel. They have left a smidge of sweetness here to help fill out the palate. The palest lemon hue, the Muscat is, not surprisingly, very much to the fore on the nose. Lovely grapey notes, spices, lemons, citrus and mandarin. A medium length wine, fresh and with good energy, topped by a clean finish. This is quite delicious. An exuberant style providing joy."

Regan Drew, Wine Pilot "Aromatic and floral, fleshy tropical yellow fruits, green grapes, passionfruit pulp, lemon citrus and herbal leafy sage undertone. Generously fleshy with creamy fruit and a refreshing citrusy bite to the close."

Melissa Moore, Wine Pilot "Fragrant and grapey with white florals, lemon zest and green apple, this blend of Muscat Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc (Blanc and Blanc, geddit?) is pretty, textural and slips down easily, and with slightly lower alcohol at 11.5% it might just have a touch of residual sweetness that adds charm and drinkability. It’s a loving and giving sort of white and perfect with a sweet onion and anchovy tart."

Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion "Lightly coloured with heady aromas of passionfruit, melon, grapefruit and apple fruit tones intermingling with hints of bath salts, crushed stone, jasmine, citrus zest and lemongrass. Swift of cadence with plenty of crunch and inherent drinkability. Great zesty drinking."

Ray Jordan, Wine Pilot "This delightfully fragrant white wine is an unusual blend of Muscat Blanc, Petits Grains and Sauvignon Blanc. The Muscat Blanc is from the Barossa where it has been growing for more than 170 years and the light lifted Savvy is from the Adelaide Hills. Nice crisp fresh palate with a little lemon butter and light honeydew melon. It screams to be drunk with some oysters or shellfish."(2022 vintage)

Regan Drew, Wine Pilot "Star fruit and yellow melon over leafy greens, easy lemony citrus and passion fruit, some richer honey tones from the Muscat and a little green capsicum. Attractive floral palate with a little round generosity giving some flesh before a juicy finish and softly powdery texture. A friend to cold glasses, summer sunshine and fisherman’s platters." (2022 vintage)

Ken Gargett, Wine Pilot "Lots to like with this fresh and light Mediterranean styled white blend. The colour is close to transparent with just a hint of straw. Bright aromas, it almost seems that each variety is enjoying the tussle for dominance. There are some lovely grapey aromas, no doubt from the Muscat, and passionfruit with a hint of grass, representing the Sauvignon. With mouthfilling flavours, this is a mid-length wine with gentle acidity and a soft finish for drinking now." (2022 vintage)

Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion "A blend of muscat blanc à petits grains and sauvignon blanc, febrile and full of crunch with flavours of guava, lemon drop and citrus fruits and a hint of white flowers, crushed stone, fennel and marzipan. Plenty of minerally verve on show, finishing crunchy and dry with appealing clarity and a real saliva-inducing sapidity to its form. Plenty to like here and bound to be a go-to when the warmer weather hits." (2022 vintage)

77% Muscat Blanc a Petit Grains, 23% Sauvignon Blanc

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.