Description
Winemaker Alex Head’s dream to make elegant Barossa wines began in 1999 while travelling through some of Europe’s greatest wine growing regions, along with his longheld fascination with the synergy of good wine, fine food and happy company at the table. Head Wines is all that and more.
Alex follows a traditional négociant model, an old practice where the winemaker does not grow their own grapes, instead working with a number of small growers. Around three-quarters of the grapes that end up in Head Wines’ bottles are sourced from a carefully chosen selection of these elevated Eden Valley sites. All of these vineyards are farmed sustainably using organic principles where possible; yields are controlled and grapes are hand-picked.
Not being tied to his own vineyards has allowed Alex to spend years understanding the strengths and weaknesses of a number of sites in pursuit of his individual style. Alex creates great Barossan wines that are memorably balanced whilst pursuing styles that are intentional and truly of place. This is sublime winemaking.
About this wine from the winemaker: “I am privileged to work with a number of small parcels of fruit from old, drygrown, hand-pruned and picked vineyards from across the Barossa. In 2009, I decided to make Grenache the way Barossan families made table wines many generations ago, to honour the years of back-breaking work required for keeping the bush-vine vineyards feasible and sustainable. The use of the word ‘Old Vine’ shows respect to the Barossa Old Vine Charter which was set up to celebrate and maintain the special sites & history of the Barossa.
“In 2024, we were again in the middle of ‘La Nina’s’ milder conditions which meant the best Grenache sites were found in the warmer sites. A new dry-grown
Grenache site (Planted 1940s) on Trial Hill (Pewsey Vale) at 480m altitude performed particularly well this season and forms the backbone of the wine. The final blend also contains a smaller amount of the Riebke vineyard of Ebenezer (Planted 1880s) at 290m altitude and ‘Stonegarden’ (Planted 1858) of Springton. 10% whole bunch ferment was used, with minimal hand plunging. Racked once during maturation of 11 months in neutral French oak puncheons. Bottled unfined& unfiltered under Stelvin capsule.” Alex Head 14.2% alc.
94 points, Gary Walsh, The Wine Front ” Raspberry, mint, some redcurrant jelly, a juicy expression of Grenache, with a light peppery grip to tannin, a fresh feel to this, and a cool and lively feel. Very nice. Peanut and red fruits ahoy.”
RRP $44 Our Special Price $37.99 when you buy 6 or more of this wine.
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