Established in 1998 Hewitson winery is situated in the heart of the Barossa Valley on the historic Seppeltsfield Road and boasts some of the oldest vines in the World. Our fruit is sourced from these dry-grown, pre-Phylloxera vineyards of the Barossa Valley and also single site vineyards in Eden Valley, McLaren Vale and the Adelaide Hills. We believe great wines are the expression of the soils they are grown in and in the seasons they grow. Through knowledge and experience we strive for balance, structure, concentration, power and breeding.

The Old Garden vineyard is the oldest Mourvèdre vineyard in the world planted in 1853. Dry-grown, original existing vines pre-Phylloxera. Eight rows of this rare and unique planting remain to this day at Rowland Flat and produce winemaker Dean Hewitson’s much-lauded single-vineyard table wine bearing the Old Garden name. The vineyard has been hand-tended and dry-farmed by Friedrich Koch and his direct descendants across three centuries.

This vineyard which was planted in 1853 has survived just about everything the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse could throw at it, barring Covid-19, and it is now the oldest patch of mourvedre on the planet. Only tiny quantities are made of this exceptional wine which has some whole bunch influence to give it structural integrity. It gets a fair whack of oak too with fermentation in new French barriques then another 20 months maturation. The result is a wine of extraordinary depth and power delivered with finesse and smooth elegance that almost certainly stems from those spectacular old vines. Just stunning. Price: $88.00; Drink: 2023 - 2038; Rating: 97 Points; Ray Jordan