2018 Hewitson, Miss Harry, Barossa Valley, Australia

2018 Hewitson, Miss Harry, Barossa Valley, Australia

Product: 20181342600
Prices start from £19.50 per bottle (75cl). Buying options
2018 Hewitson, Miss Harry, Barossa Valley, Australia

Buying options

Available for delivery or collection. Pricing includes duty and VAT.

Description

Borrowing Harriet Hewitson’s nickname, Miss Harry comes from a Barossa Valley vineyard dating back to the 1800s. This Rhône-inspired blend is led by Grenache (52%) with Shiraz (25%) and Mourvèdre (23%). The wine was fermented with 38% whole bunches, then aged for 12 months in seasoned French barriques. The nose is bright with aromas of cherries, strawberries, spice and herbs. On the palate, this is fresh and juicy with forest fruits, cream and dried herbs. Enjoy with a medium-rare steak or aubergine dishes.

Berry Bros. & Rudd

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About this WINE

Hewitson

Hewitson

Dean Hewitson must surely rank as one of the most talented winemakers of his generation. For twenty-five years Dean has learnt his trade via Roseworthy College, Petaluma, UC Davis University C.A., Oregon, France and Italy before setting up in his own right at the well-insulated Adelaide Milk Factory on London Road on April 11th 1998. His experience abroad taught Dean the value of old vine fruit, something he took to heart as he built a 30,000 case business on Barossa Shiraz, Grenache, Mourvedre as well as McLaren Vale Shiraz, Eden Valley Riesling and Victorian Viognier.

Ten years on sees Dean consolidating his success as he finally puts his roots down at No.1 Seppeltsfield Rd, Dorrien, in the heart of Barossa Valley. Building has begun on a new red wine cuverie while the estate's 50 year Semillon vines on the banks of the Para River have already been grafted over to Mourvedre. Dean has also recently purchased a forty-two year Grenache vineyard in the Barossa Valley and a Sauvignon Blanc site among the Adelaide Hills.

In the meantime Dean continues to source fruit from up and down the rich terra-rossa Barossa Valley, notably from the Old Garden Mourvedre bushvine site planted in 1853 and the Three Corner Grenache, Rawlands Flat vineyard dating back to 1890. He has made it his life's work to propogate the next generation of these fabulously old, living monuments by grafting their buds onto 30 yo rootstock. Dean uses opentop stainless-steel fermentors before careful lees elevage in french oak barrels.

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Barossa Valley

Barossa Valley

Barossa Valley is the South Australia's wine industry's birthplace. Currently into its fifth generation, it dates back to 1839 when George Fife Angas’ South Australian Company purchased 28,000 acres at a £1 per acre and sold them onto landed gentry, mostly German Lutherans. The first vines were planted in 1843 in Bethany, and by the 1870s – with Europe ravaged by war and Phylloxera - Gladstone’s British government complemented its colonies with preferential duties.

Fortified wines, strong enough to survive the 20,000km journey, flooded the British market. Churchill followed, between the Wars, re-affirming Australia’s position as a leading supplier of ‘Empire wines’. After the Second World War, mass European immigration saw a move to lighter wines, as confirmed by Grange Hermitage’s creation during the 1950s. Stainless-steel vats and refrigeration improved the quality of the dry table wines on offer, with table wine consumption exceeding fortified for the first time in 1970.

Averaging 200 to 400 metres’ altitude, the region covers 6,500 hectares of mainly terra rossa loam over limestone, as well as some warmer, sandier sites – the Cambrian limestone being far more visible along the eastern boundary (the Barossa Ranges) with Eden Valley. Following a diagonal shape, Lyndoch at the southern end nearest Gulf St Vincent is the region’s coolest spot, benefiting from sea fogs, while Nuriootpa (further north) is warmer; hot northerlies can be offset by sea breezes. The region is also home to the country’s largest concentration of 100-year-old-vine ShirazGrenache and Mourvedre.

Barossa Valley Shiraz is one of the country’s most identifiable and famous red wine styles, produced to a high quality by the likes of Rockford, Elderton, Torbreck and Dean Hewitson. Grenache and Mourvèdre are two of the region’s hidden gems, often blended with Shiraz, yet occasionally released as single vineyard styles such as Hewitson’s ‘Old Garden’, whose vines date back to 1853. Cabernet Sauvignon is a less highly-regarded cultivar.

Wines are traditionally vinified in open concrete fermenters before being cleaned up and finished in American and French oak barrels or ‘puncheons’ of approximately 600 litres. Barossa Shiraz should be rich, spicy and suave, with hints of leather and pepper.

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Grenache/Garnacha

Grenache/Garnacha

Grenache (Noir) is widely grown and comes in a variety of styles. Believed to originate in Spain, it was, in the late 20th century, the most widely planted black grape variety in the world. Today it hovers around seventh in the pecking order. It tends to produce very fruity, rich wines that can range quite widely in their level of tannin.

In many regions – most famously the Southern Rhône, where it complements Syrah and Mourvèdre, among other grapes – it adds backbone and colour to blends, but some of the most notable Châteauneuf du Pape producers (such as Château Rayas) make 100 percent Grenache wines. The grape is a component in many wines of the Languedoc (where you’ll also find its lighter-coloured forms, Grenache Gris and Blanc) and is responsible for much southern French rosé – taking the lead in most Provence styles.

Found all over Spain as Garnacha Tinta (spelt Garnaxa in Catalonia), the grape variety is increasingly detailed on wine labels there. Along with Tempranillo, it forms the majority of the blend for Rioja’s reds and has been adopted widely in Navarra, where it produces lighter styles of red and rosado (rosé). It can also be found operating under a pseudonym, Cannonau, in Sardinia.

 

Beyond Europe, Grenache is widely planted in California and Australia, largely thanks to its ability to operate in high temperatures and without much water. Particularly in the Barossa Valley, there are some extraordinary dry-farmed bush vines, some of which are centuries old and produce wines of startling intensity.

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When is a wine ready to drink?

We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.

Not ready

These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.

Ready - youthful

These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.

Ready - at best

These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.

Ready - mature

These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.