2021 BARREL 1853

Reviews

"The Hewitson Barrel 1853 Shiraz Mourvèdre is a rare and unique wine, blended from the best barrel each of the Monopole Shiraz and Old Garden Mourvèdre exclusively from 1853 vine age provenance. The 2021 vintage is fragrantly abundant with redcurrant, blackberry, and jubey raspberry aromas layered over milk chocolate, cedar and vanilla of new and seasoned French barriques, and hints of leather and spice. The texture is creamy and smooth but there’s balance in the acidity to freshen, with silky tannins that run alongside the berried fruit concentration. SM without the G, this wine is a study in structure, elegance, fruit power and longevity with that velvety middle palate that Dean Hewitson is such a master of. The Barrel 1853 is modern exemplar of wine that will drink impeccably tonight or still be developing contentedly in twenty years. 99 Points." - Melissa Moore, Wine Pilot

"A barrel selection from the outstanding 2021 Barossan vintage, which turns out to be an equal blend of Old Garden Mourvèdre and Monopole Shiraz, both 1853-planted vines and 20 months in oak. It's such a beautifully composed wine, a study into ancient vine texture and grace with intuitive winemaking simpatico with such an important resource. Pristine plummy fruits with red fruit top notes. Harmonious and endlessly complex with layers of fine spice, pomegranate, sage, bay leaf, roasting meats, forest floor, mountain herbs, wildflowers, leather, cedar and earth. The meeting of fruit and oak is seamless; everything in its right place. Tannins chalky and fine, sour cherry acidity perfectly poised, the finish super long and savoury pure. It's a wine to get wrapped up in, and it's just fantastic. 98 Points." - Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion

"This is a real best of the best. A year before bottling the Hewitson team selected the best barrels of Old Garden Mourvèdre and Monopole Shiraz to create the final blend. I have been fortunate to have tasted many of these wines over the years, but I don’t think there has been a better one than this. Perfumed red fruits and violet with plummy cranberry notes. The palate is sublime with its deeply intense and concentrated power delivered with poise and finesse. It has structure and yet is supple. A marvelous statement. 98 Points." - Ray Jordan, Wine Pilot

"Gracefully opulent and flatteringly classy, the wine shows dark fruit richness, cake spice, mocha and cedary oak characters on the nose. The palate reveals outstanding concentration and expansive mouthfeel, superbly enhanced by lavish texture and finely pitched tannins, finishing impressively long and refined. This is impeccably composed and expressed with sensually appealing complexity. At its best: 2025 to 2046. 98 Points." - Sam Kim, Wine Orbit

"The annual blending of the barrels (sounds like an Aussie version of the running with the bulls), the team select their very best barrel of Old Garden Mourvèdre and their very best barrel of Monopole Shiraz and blend them. So production is limited to just two barrels. It is, naturally, a 50/50 split of Shiraz and Mourvèdre with 65% of the grapes from this vintage whole bunch pressed, followed by three weeks on skins, and twenty months in new French oak barriques. Inky maroon, this is a special wine and it very much drinks like it. The oak is still a little evident but for a wine of this size and power, this comes as no surprise and will continue to integrate. Time is very much on its side. Vanillin and nutmeg notes to the fore, the fruit weaves its spell with good concentration and notes of cassis, chocolate, mocha, spices, new leather, black fruits plums and warm earth. Dense, balanced and intense, the wine is fresh and complex, finishing with silky tannins. Such length! A twenty year proposition. 97 Points." - Ken Gargett, Wine Pilot

"A 50/50 split barrel blend of the best selections of the 2021 Monopole Mother Vine Shiraz and the 2021 Old Garden Mourvèdre. As such, the wine is tied to those ancient 1853 plantings. For the wine nerds that results in 65% whole bunches being used in the ferments. Hyper fragrant aromas that shift and move with each approach. The sum of the best parts with fresh cardboard box, roast meats, potpourri, chocolate wafer, raisin tea cake, peppercorn spice, fruits of blackberry, plum and cherry with nori sheets and a little vanilla. Complex and layered with gravitas and a ferrous spine. Layers of deep, muscular flesh held together with fine, firm and tightly knit tannins. Echoes of rose petals and umami that linger for a substantial amount of time. Unique and individual. 97 Points." - Regan Drew, Wine Pilot

"Deepest ruby with a full purple rim. Mulberry and plum fruit with hints of cured beef and cola spices on the nose. Dark fruits on entry, then meaty and iodine savoury complexities fill in and balance it well. There’s intensity here without being overbearing, an airy note that beguiles and surprises considering the power that is clearly here. Great length is carried by very finely built tannins and a hint of freshness from subtle acidity. Seriously impressive wine that has many years of fascination ahead of it. 97 Points." - Stuart Knox, The Real Review

"The top of the Hewitson wine tree is a blend of the best barrel of Monopole Shiraz and the best barrel of the Old Garden Mourvèdre. As if to make the point even more, it is delivered in a heavy, deep-punted bottle. It’s not necessary, the wine speaks beautifully, resolutely, for itself. Barrel 1853 is a wine story built around two solid pillars: power and poise. It’s early days for the wine, it is destined for a long life, but the building blocks are well in place now. Expect a world rich in black fruits, blackstrap liquorice, clove, cinnamon, rosemary, roast meats and charry woodsy notes against a background of firm, well placed tannins to open up in the glass. It will continue to evolve the longer the wine remains open, which is when nuance begins to creep in and be explored. Fruit off old vines bring an incredible concentration of flavour. Here it is magnified. Give it the time it needs and deserves. 96 Points." - Jeni Port, Wine Pilot

"A wine with an origin story tying up several strands. The best barrels from two entwined vineyards blended to create a whole new story. Dark berries, even darker plums. Powdered dark chocolate and crushed fennel seed. A hint of grilled meat. An intricately woven tannin lattice. Australia’s winemaking past and future entwined. 96 Points." - Nick Ryan, The Australian

"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. 90 Points." - Annette Lacey MW, Wine Pilot