Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Shows trademark savory characters, such as coal dust, as well as violets, blueberries and wet stones. The palate is also savory, with a rich thread of concentrated blue fruit. Sanguine finish. Drink or hold.
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Decanter
Made with bush-vine fruit from cuttings of the 1853 Hewitson Old Garden Vineyard – hence the name. An easy-drinking style with good depth of brambly purple fruit and an appealing savoury character. Food-friendly tannins and a dash of spice on the finish mean it's a good match for hearty winter dishes.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This 2020 Baby Bush Mourvedre certainly hits the Mataro nail on the head: it's earthy, tannic, plush and layered with purple fruits. It's actually only medium-bodied rather than the oft expressed full-bodied iterations—a good gateway Mataro for the uninitiated.
Full of ripe fruit, and robust, earthy goodness, Mourvèdre is actually of Spanish provenance, where it still goes by the name Monastrell or Mataro. It is better associated however, with the Red Blends of the Rhône, namely Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Mourvèdre shines on its own in Bandol and is popular both as a single varietal wine in blends in the New World regions of Australia, California and Washington. Somm Secret—While Mourvèdre has been in California for many years, it didn’t gain momentum until the 1980s when a group of California winemakers inspired by the wines of the Rhône Valley finally began to renew a focus on it.
Historically and presently the most important wine-producing region of Australia, the Barossa Valley is set in the Barossa zone of South Australia, where more than half of the country’s wine is made. Because the climate is very hot and dry, vineyard managers work diligently to ensure grapes reach the perfect levels of phenolic ripeness.
The intense heat is ideal for plush, bold reds, particularly Shiraz on its own or Rhône Blends. Often Shiraz and Cabernet partner up for plump and powerful reds.
While much less prevalent, light-skinned varieties such as Riesling, Viognier or Semillon produce vibrant Barossa Valley whites.
Most of Australia’s largest wine producers are based here and Shiraz plantings date back as far as the 1850s or before. Many of them are dry farmed and bush trained, still offering less than one ton per acre of inky, intense, purple juice.