Hewitson The Mad Hatter Shiraz 2020
- 96
- $50
- Drink by: 2022-2042
Share
Yet another superb Barossa Shiraz, again from the powerful 2020 vintage, this one is from a single vineyard. After crushing and destemming, the grapes saw a cold soak for a week and a further three weeks on skins, before sixteen months in ‘freshly seasoned’ French oak barriques. The darkest magenta, we have notes of plush, dense chocolate. The nose just grabs you and tells you that you’ll love this wine. There is power and concentration, and a great future, but it also offers joy now. The chocolate persists throughout and we have beefstock, soy, licorice, plums and black fruits. This is very, very long and with extremely fine tannins. Wonderful wine which will drink superbly for two decades. The score should go even higher during that period.
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.
