I’ve been very critical of this heroic flagship red from Hewitson, and it’s a joy that the OTT nature of last vintage wasn’t repeated in 2021. Kinda. It’s still a heavyweight red in a humungous bottle, and I can’t feel this as a 13.5% red. Anyway, 1853 is a blend of the best barrel of Shiraz that goes into the Monopole Shiraz and the best barrel of Old Garden Vineyard Mourvedre. Conceptually, it’s great, but the execution typically suffers from flagship syndrome, where the best fruit gets more oak/winemaking artifice while less would be more for the best juice to shine. This blend tastes of mocha, cooked plum, dark berries and caramel in a mode that feels very Barossan, warm and mouthfilling but a bit ham-fisted too. An almost wine, with a big heart, but just trying a bit too hard.
- Best drinking: it will live for decades. Likely better in five years
- Score (out of 20): 17.7
- Score (out of 100): 92
- Alcohol %: 13.5
- RRP (in $AUD): 450
- Winery website: https://www.hewitson.com.au/
- Would I buy it?: a glass
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