Hewitson Miss Harry GSM 2018 - Barossa Valley, South Australia

94/100 James Suckling
93/100 Ray Jordan, Wine Pilot
93/100 James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion
92/100 Campbell Mattinson, Wine Front
94/100 James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion (2017 vintage)
93/100 Sam Kim Wine Orbit (2017 vintage)
92/100 James Suckling (2017 vintage)
91/100 Huon Hooke, The Real Review (2017 vintage)

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

James Suckling "Striking aromas and flavors of fresh raspberries and crushed roses, violets and some blackberries, as well as plums. So well balanced with such depth of flavor and freshness. Some whole-bunch details, too. A blend of 55% grenache, 20% each of shiraz and mourvedre, the balance carignan and cinsault. " 

James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion "Well measured whole-bunch inclusion heightens the dried herb and crunchy red fruits, rhubarb and greengage plum mood of this bright little blend. There's a preserving effect at play here, too, and it's holding impeccable freshness at 3 years of age. Fine-ground tannins carry lingering fruit persistence."

James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion "A very attractive light to medium-bodied palate with spices coming from all directions, the fruit flavours red, purple and black, the tannin load minimal." (2017 vintage) 

James Suckling "A delicious blend of grenache, shiraz, mourvedre, carignan and cinsault that delivers a bold and rich finish with soft tannins and a flavorful finish. Slightly baked fruit." (2017 vintage)

Huon Hooke, The Real Review "Medium to full red colour with a tint of purple, the bouquet stemmy, herbal and briary. It smacks of whole-bunch fermentation. Lots of earthy mourvèdre pepperiness, too. A quite complex wine with dry herbs and spices galore. Tannins are quite firm but balanced, providing good structure. Very good value." (2017 vintage) 

The Winemaker "This wine is a Rhone-style blend from vineyards dating back to 1800s. The palate is wonderfully fresh and with juicy forest fruits, dried herbs and a creamy complexity derived from its maturation on yeast lees in old French oak barrels. The concentrated fruits, fine tannin and perfectly integrated acid complete the wine. Vinified with 45% whole bunches and minimal SO2, using solar energy and water recycling."

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.

Grenache – Syrah – Mourvedre blended wines – commonly known by the acronym GSM – are the particular specialty of the southern Rhone Valley in France. Grenache and Syrah are key in this part of the world and are complemented in this instance by the addition of Mourvedre: an important but slightly less famous inclusion to the blend. GSM wines, which have been readily adopted by the New World, are rich, full-bodied and leathery, and are characterized by flavors of dark fruit and spice.