Tag Archives: Barossa

Mourvèdre Monday #9: Hewitson Old Garden 2005

For this week’s Mourvèdre Monday, we’re hopping in the wayback machine. I mean waaaaaaaaayback. I’m talking the oldest known Mourvèdre vines in the world. I’m so excited I just might wet myself.

Producer: Hewitson

Grapes: 100% Mourvèdre

Appellation: Barossa Valley, Australia

Vineyard: All the grapes for this wine come from the “Old Garden” planted in 1853. Eight. Teen. Fifty. Three. They were already calling this the “Old Garden” in the 18-freaking-80s when it was 30+ years old. The vines are dry-farmed, hand-pruned and hand-harvested bush vines.

Vintage: 2005

Winemaking: About 18 months in 100% new French oak barrels.

Alcohol: 14.5%

Price: $29.40 at Spec’s in Austin

My tasting notes: There’s a slight orange-ness at the edge, like Spanish-style clay roof tiles. The nose is complex and layered: Plum, mixed berries, spice, Dr. Pepper, a bit of cream from the new oak. On the palate, there is rich red fruit (esp. cherry) that stays away from being too intense/extracted. There’s a wet-earth minerality to this that I like a lot, as well. It’s smooth textured with good acidity, but not as much backbone as I expected. Not an especially lengthy finish. After a couple of hours open it starts to lose it’s gravitas and begins to taste like a mediocre Lodi Zin or something.

Overall impression: I had really high expectations for this wine and it wasn’t quite what I expected. I imagined these ancient vines producing a robust, intense wine that would impress me with its strength. Instead, it seemed to me more like a interesting, dapper old man. Still, an enjoyable bottle that I’m glad I got to taste. I’ll be on the lookout for other vintages in the future to keep tabs on this unique wine. B

Free association:

More info:

Check out this short video from Hewitson on the Old Garden vineyard.

A collection of reviews on the Hewitson website.

Other reviews at The Wine FrontCellarTracker (avg: 89) and Cork’d.

Boots Grenache 2005 Barossa

Boots05Grenache_snapshot

Producer: Trevor Jones (Boots label)

Grapes: Grenache

Appellation: Barossa (Australia)

Vineyards: Old bush vines

Winemaking: This wine sees some time in French oak, but just how long isn’t clear from the label or website.

Alcohol: 14.5%

Price: $12-13

My tasting notes: Very light color. Bright nose of pine forest, cherries (cherry cough syrup, really) and Wint-O-Green LifeSavers. Some oak coming through as well. On the palate, this wine is silky and pleasant with cherry, herbs and a maple syrup quality. But it lacks backbone. There’s a bit of tannic grip at the end and a dry finish, but overall it feels unstructured.

Overall assessment: Not what I expected from a Barossa wine; it’s certainly not BIG and jammy. This wine walks the fine line between interesting and odd. I think I’m giving it the benefit of the doubt and calling it interesting. C+

Free association:

odd_shaped_glasses

More info:

This wine scored an 89 in The Wine Advocate (Jay Miller).

A few tasting notes at CellarTracker.

The Grateful Palate is the importer. Here’s their page on this wine (though it appears to not be updated to the 05).