Hewitson Old Garden Single Vineyard Mourvèdre 2019

A famous wine. The Old Garden Vineyard, which is unirrigated, in the Barossa is home to the oldest Mourvèdre vines on the planet, dating back to 1853. This wine usually sees around 50% whole bunches in the vat for a month, fermentation and then 18 months in new French oak barriques from a mix of forests. Deep, dark red, the nose moves through spices, warm earth, roast meats, bergamot, dark berries, chocolate, animal skins and a sweet core of black cherries. Seamless, the bright acidity carries the wine through to the very long finish with its silky tannins. There is a freshness here, great length and such focus and poise, even a hint of finesse. This has twenty years ahead of it. Is there a better varietal Mourvèdre on the planet? Drink: 2022-2042. Score – 97. (Ken Gargett, winepilot.com, Sept. 2022)