Hewitson Bud Wood GSM 2018

We keep seeing really exciting GSM blends from the Barossa and McLaren Vale, and long may it continue. This one is right at the forefront of delicious, impressive offerings. Dean Hewitson and his team obviously have great suppliers from which they source their fruit, vineyards which are clearly home to classic old vines. The Grenache is sourced from a single vineyard, over a hundred years old. The Mourvèdre is made of cuttings originally from the Old Garden vineyard and is grown as bush vines. Their Shiraz comes from the classic Barossa red loam over clay. Maturation is in older French barrels.

The colour is a soft red with an ever-so-slightly pale rim. Strawberries just leap out of the glass. Gorgeous now with notes of herbs, cassis and spices but it is the strawberries which rule! Hints of a strawberry milkshake. The palate moves more to darker fruits and berries with blackcurrants and chocolate emerging with excellent length and balance. Love this. Drink now and over the next ten years, though I am betting that most of it gets drunk long before the decade expires.