2009 Hewitson Mourvèdre Old Garden

Community Tasting Notes (8) Avg Score: 91.2 points

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  7/15/2020 - Paul852 Likes this wine: 91 Points

  This is a really nice wine.
  
  Decanted (removing some light sediment) then started to drink about 3 hours later.
  
  I can't do better than to copy Forceberry's evocative description from 2017:
  
  "Deep, moderately translucent dark cherry color with a hint of developed brownish hue. Complex, rather sweet and somewhat developed nose with rich aromas of ripe, plummy dark fruits, brambly blackberries, some slightly wizened forest berries, a little bit of sweet oak spice and a hint of developed, leathery character. The wine is ripe, full-bodied and velvety smooth on the palate with rich flavors of sweet and somewhat toasty oak spice, ripe and super-juicy dark berries, some chocolate tones, a little bit of wizened pruney fruit, a hint of cocoa and a touch of sweet black cherry. The wine shows medium-to-moderate acidity, whereas the gentle tannins are silky and quite resolved. The finish is very complex, rather sweet and really juicy with rich, pretty long and somewhat developed flavors of roasted spices, sweet oak spice, some raisiny fruit, a little bit of dried dark berries, a hint of cocoa and a touch of ripe black cherry."
  
  It seems that the wine has plateaued since then. And I was very fortunate to get two bottles in a COVID-deal for ~US$26, at which price it is outstanding QPR.
  
  (Sadly, the best price I can find one week later is ~US$50!)

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  4/18/2018 - winelover1808 wrote: 90 Points

  good wine. a bit blocky and one dimensional to me, but still enjoyable

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  11/25/2017 - forceberry wrote: 91 Points

  Wine made from the oldest parcel of Mourvèdre vines of Hewitson (planted in 1853), most likely also the oldest Mourvèdre block in Australia and perhaps in the whole world. Macerated with the skins for 3 weeks. Aged for 18 months in 100% new French oak barrels.
  
  Deep, moderately translucent dark cherry color with a hint of developed brownish hue. Complex, rather sweet and somewhat developed nose with rich aromas of ripe, plummy dark fruits, brambly blackberries, some slightly wizened forest berries, a little bit of sweet oak spice and a hint of developed, leathery character. The wine is ripe, full-bodied and velvety smooth on the palate with rich flavors of sweet and somewhat toasty oak spice, ripe and super-juicy dark berries, some chocolate tones, a little bit of wizened pruney fruit, a hint of cocoa and a touch of sweet black cherry. The wine shows medium-to-moderate acidity, whereas the gentle tannins are silky and quite resolved. The finish is very complex, rather sweet and really juicy with rich, pretty long and somewhat developed flavors of roasted spices, sweet oak spice, some raisiny fruit, a little bit of dried dark berries, a hint of cocoa and a touch of ripe black cherry.
  
  If I compare my tasting notes to my earlier ones, I can see some evolution here: the tannins start to feel quite resolved, lacking most of their earlier grip, and even though the oak flavors are still there, they are much better integrated with the fruit now. Overall there has happened some development over these years, but the wine is still some distance away from its plateau of maturity: there is a lot of room for further development in the fruit sector and the oak could always integrate even more with the fruit. Shows good promise and most likely the wine will hit its apogee somewhere around 12-16 years from its vintage - I just hope its structure will hold well enough. I purchased the wine for 34,50€ some 6 years ago and at that price the wine was worth its value. Now the current vintage (2012) retails here for 54,49€ and at that price I really would leave the wine be.

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  6/24/2015 - dsapp Likes this wine: 93 Points

  Decanted 8 hours. Shined with time/air, especially after fifth hour. Nice nose: Roasted cherries, maybe jubilee, with rubber bands and the chalky powder from bubble gum. Evolved into olive oil and pesto, and meaty nuts, like chestnuts perhaps. Worth the QPR. Paired well with grilled chicken, sweet potato, and green beans.

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  3/16/2015 - forceberry wrote: 91 Points

  Dark, slightly translucent ruby color. Sweet and quite ripe nose betraying the warm origins of the wine. Aromas of sunny dark fruits, strawberries, earthy spices, some meaty notes, a little sweet oak veering into the spicy Cognac territory, hints of plum jam and a touch of leather. Full-bodied, juicy and intense on the palate with rich and opulent flavors of sweet cherries, plum liqueur, roasted spices, some Cognac oak and a hint of ripe strawberry. Moderately firm tannins and good, balanced acidity. Alcohol shows a little. The finish is long, quite concentrated and a bit warm with rich flavors of cherry marmalade, sweet oak spice, some Cognac woody notes bordering on bitterness and hints of prunes. The tannins give the aftertaste a good grip, offsetting the sweeter notes nicely.
  
  A big, impressive and serious Mourvèdre with a lot of power, concentration and complexity. Although the wine is obviously very ripe and thus somewhat sweet, it still shows great balance due to its firm, somewhat astringent tannins and bright acidity that feels surprisingly high for a wine of this size. A monolithic blockbuster that definitely has the stuffing to withstand long cellaring. Probably won't impress fans of light and delicate old world wines, but unless you are not one of those, this is definitely a wine worth checking out. A bit pricey at 13,20€ for a 12 cl glass in a restaurant, but worth it.

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