Hewitson - "Ned and Henry" - Barossa Valley - Australia - 2006

Shiraz / Mourvedre
Barossa / $22 - $30

Although Australian wines are often labeled by the critical press as "Over the Top", they are still some of the finest values to be found for frugal wine lovers. Consistently delivering a lot of wine for the money, there are some gems to be found that should be on the top of every wine lovers list.

Hewitson is one of my favorite producers in the Barossa Valley. With 8-10 different wines released each year, they are consistently good year to year. Hewitson is one of my "Go-To" producers when I am looking for a wine to impress.

Ned and Henry is a lovely shiraz with a touch of mourvedre blended in for balance. Named after the estates two sons, this wine is big, rich and fruit forward. Those that like Aussie reds will love the balance and richness of this red.

It pours purple and the color is saturated. The nose is gobs of black fruit, red fruit some vanilla and licorice. The wine tastes of black fruit, plum, cola and finished with a hint of nut and earth. This is a medium bodied wine with a decadent feel.

How much can you expect to pay for this decadence? I found this wine on-line for $21.00. If you buy it retail, you can expect to pay up to $30. Even at $30, this is a lot of wine for the money. Most importantly, it is a bottle of wine that will not disappoint. I could easily see folks that taste this wine blind assume it is a $50 bottle of wine.

This wine is imported by John Larchet who owns "The Australian Premium Wine Collection". Any time you see this neck label, I can promise you it is attached to a wonderful wine. I had the chance to taste the entire collection last year with Josh Raynolds of IWC. There was not a bad wine in the bunch.

Maybe the best part of this review today is not specifically this review, but the recommendation to look out for this neck label when searching store shelves for a wine. It may be cheating, but I promise you that you won't go wrong.

Has anyone tasted any other wines in this collection? Do you agree with my analysis? Report back. You can comment following this post.