Hewitson The Mad Hatter Shiraz 2019
- 95
- $50
- Drink by: 2021-2036
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This single vineyard Shiraz is taking us into the realms of special occasion wines. It is for enjoying today or take advantage of the structure to look at it any time over the next few decades. After harvest, the grapes were crushed and de-stemmed, before cold soaking for a week and then a further three weeks on skins. After that, it spends 16 months in ‘freshly seasoned’ French oak barriques.
The colour is deep dark red with flecks of purple throughout. Deep and intense, the nose offers rose petal notes, graphite, dark berries, mulberries, florals and a hint of that sweet, earthy character found in a tin of sliced beetroot. There is serious grip here, by way of fine yet firm tannins. The wine has serious length. This is a cracking young Shiraz, which will be even better in ten to fifteen years.
Ken was born and bred in Brisbane, Queensland. He had a non-trendy, perfectly happy childhood, in a family convinced alcohol meant instant condemnation to Hades. But a break fishing on the Great Barrier Reef, and some good wine, started a serious obsession that eventually took over. It did not stop Ken being chastised later for drinking Pol champagne, disgusted he’d drink anything made by a Cambodian dictator. Now, Ken mostly writes on wine, champagne and spirits for various newspapers, magazines and books, but is perhaps best known for his work in The Courier Mail. He also has a little sideline writing on cigars, fishing, travel and food. When not writing, fly-fishing for trout in NZ or bonefish on the flats of Cuba, travelling or smoking cigars, he is no doubt following a variety of sporting teams – the occasionally glorious Queensland Reds rugby, the dysfunctional Washington Redskins, the dodgy Arsenal and especially revels in the world restored to its proper axis with the return of the Ashes to their rightful home.
