Hewitson The Mad Hatter Shiraz 2023

A vintage selection of vineyards each year. Matured for 15 months in 1 and 2 year old French barrels Linear dark fruit, dehydrated concreted, salty, soup mix, lithe(ish) and focused. Good core of clean, cool fruit without any flabby or superfluous oak. There’s a savoury edge with licorice and black jelly bean that’s executed with a keen suave gaze and a seriousness to this cruiserweight wine. Tannins are tight and firm. Finish is for now, just a little structural which tells you there’s more to come (if you can wait).

Regan Drew

Regan is a regular wine columnist for the News Regional Media "Weekend" Magazine and digital "Life" sections. A graduate of the Australian Wine Research Institute's Advanced Wine Assessment Course #47 he was awarded with Distinction WSET Level 3 in Wine & Spirits, has been an Associate Judge for the New South Wine Awards plus a couple of little stints helping out in the Hunter Valley and Tasmania during vintages with small but quality winemakers.