Old Garden Mourvedre 2016
Hewitson
Eight rows of this rare and unique planting remain to this day at Rowland Flat and produce winemaker Dean Hewitson’s much-lauded single-vineyard table wine bearing the Old Garden name.
The Vineyard has been hand-tended and dry-farmed by Friedrich Koch and his direct descendants across three centuries.
Vinification: 20% whole bunch; cold soak one week; on skins three weeks after cold soak/remontage
Aging: 18 months new French oak barriques (Remond: Alliers, Troancais and Betranges forests).
Planting system: Old low trellis system
Vine density: 2,500 per Ha
Farming: Dry-land, unirrigated, rye grass between rows, hand pruned
Additional Information
Medium red with a crimson hue. Lifted forest berry, black cherry and orange peel. Palate shows dense, lush blackberries & prune with hints of cigar box, violets and black pepper. Fine, seamlessly integrated tannins.
Technical Details
- Appellation: Barossa Valley
- Winemaker: Dean Hewitson
- Sustainability: Sustainable Practices
- Soil: Sand, Limestone
- Avg Vine Age: Planted in 1853
- Yield: 4.8 tons/ha
- Alcohol: 14%
- Ttl Acidity: 6 g/l
- Residual Sugar: .6 g/l
- Pack Size: 6/750ml
- Varietals: 100% Mourvedre
Recent Press
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Score: 96 Points
Gourmet Traveller Date: Monday, June 15, 2020 "From arguably the oldest mourvèdre vines on Earth, this is one of Dean Hewitson’s best yet. Deeply coloured with aromas of brown spices, earth and savoury nutty characters. An engaging wine, with mysterious undertones including chocolate and licorice." -
Score: 97 Points
Wine Orbit Author: Sam Kim
Date: Wednesday, April 15, 2020"This is stunning and engaging; the immensely complex bouquet shows dark plum, mulberry, charcuterie and spicy oak characters, leading to an impressively concentrated palate that's velvety and supple. It's powerful and graceful at the same time with multi-layered mouthfeel, finishing persistent and gratifying." -
Score: 95 Points
The Wine Front Author: Gary Walsh
Date: Wednesday, April 1, 2020"Classic scrub herb, orange peel and honey aromatics over black fruit and strawberry, toasty spicy sweet oak noted, but largely swallowed up by intense fruit. Medium-bodied, spice, dark orange chocolate and toffee, thick silty and silky tannin, plenty of savoury and sweet fruit on a very long finish. Good vintage for this wine." -
Score: 96 Points
The Real Review Author: Huon Hooke
Date: Wednesday, April 1, 2020"Deep red colour with a good purple tint and a brown-spice aroma, earthy and savoury, chocolaty, nutty as in brazil nuts, complex and savoury, much more than simple fruit. A note of clean leather, and the palate is very dry and savoury with lashings of tannin and oak-derived nuances. Delicious touches of chocolate and licorice. Lots of mysterious undertones. A really engaging, super-serious wine. A great drink now and will surely power on for many years. (Vineyard planted in 1853; ""believed to be the oldest on the planet" -
Score: 96 Points
JamesSuckling.com Author: James Suckling
Date: Wednesday, April 1, 2020"This is a rarity, sourced from a parcel of vines that were planted in 1853. It has a rich dark-plum, blackberry and cherry nose with spiced blueberries, too. Dried-rose florals, deep-set spices and a gently tarry edge are the early indicators of a very complex road ahead. The palate has such seamlessly arranged and layered tannins. Sweet, fine and assertive, yet supple. The depth of ripe dark-berry and blue-plum flavor is so impressive. Smooth, ripe and so effortlessly commanding. This is super." -
Score: 94 Points
Jeremy Oliver Author: Jeremy Oliver
Date: Sunday, December 1, 2019"Heady, floral and earthy aromas of fresh red and black fruits reveal nuances of chocolate/cedar oak and spicy notes of fruitcake. It’s soft and gentle, with a round, medium to fullish palate packed with vibrant fruit that’s underpinned by a subtle, ultra-fine spine of surprising firmness. There’s some chocolatey and leathery development, and a lingering licorice-like aspect at the finish."
