Hewiton Winery is a great new addition to the fabulous wine making world of Australia. Founded in 1998, winemaker Dean Hewitson had a vision to produce fine wines using a combination of old vineyards and old world wine making techniques while maintaining an innovative style. Hewitson is dedicated to producing traditionally-made, expressive wines from the great vineyards of South Australia’s famous wine regions: Adelaide Hills, Eden Valley, McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley and stretching to the tip of the Fleurieu Peninsula. Geographically these regions are collectively known as The Adelaide Super Zone. This is Hewitson’s backyard.
I found the 2006 Mad Hatter Shiraz to be very expressive and exceptional for an Australian shiraz. It seems that most shiraz’s made from Australia are over acidic and too bold but This wine was very supple and delectable, and can be enjoyed now as well as cellared for 3 to 10 years. At first glance the color of this wine Is very a deep dark purple and medium body. The nose was very complex and I had trouble depicting the aromas at first but as the wine shiraz-labelcloseupopened I could smell black cherry, blueberry, vanilla, and some chocolate notes ( mostly from the French oak).The palate was very well balanced with medium acidity. The wine was silky on my tongue and reinforced the flavors on the nose. The 2006 Mad Hatter is a very elegant expression of a different approach to Shiraz, one that I find a little more reserved and pleasing to all palates. As a single vineyard wine they only produce a limited quantity of The Mad Hatter every year. Allocated worldwide, the exclusive release of the new vintage 2007 The Mad Hatter is available for a short time only.
Hewitson is considered in the top echelon of Australian wineries. The wines are praised for their flavour, balance and complexity, while the sheer quality and character of the wines demand they are stocked world-wide in personal cellars, the finest hotels and finest restaurants. Hewitson is dedicated to crafting exceptional wines from great vineyards. I strongly encourage everyone to sample these wines with an open mind and like myself you will be hooked.
