Hewitson The Mother Vine 2012 Shiraz

Dean Hewitson can always be relied upon to produce wines full of interest and appeal - and this one has a great story behind it. The reason I'm recommending it, however, is its sheer drinkability. I taste tested it alongside several other very good shirazes, and this is the wine that accompanied our veal cutlets, and the bottle that ended up empty. It is made in tiny amounts from a "sélection clonale" from just one ancient shiraz vine planted in 1853. Back in 2008 Hewitson harvested the buds from the old vine and grafted them onto existing 25 year-old roots at Dorrien in the Barossa Valley. He now has a single vineyard, 0.8 hectares in size, all from the one mother vine. The fruit is matured for 20 months in new and seasoned French oak barriques and the end result is a wine of impeccable balance. $50. www.hewitson.com.au/