Alex Head dealt himself an unusual hand as he wove his way into the heart of fine wine. First up was a degree in biochemistry from Sydney University. It was not inspired by wine, but a love of science, majoring in biochemistry. But little by little the pieces of the jigsaw started to fall into place as he commenced working with John Osbeiston of Ultimo Cellars, arguably Sydney’s leading retailer of fine wine from Europe and selected Australian wineries. The arrangement started in 1996, and continued on and off for 10 years. It was a springboard for trips to the UK, Italy and the northern Rhône Valley, which he fell in love with, and retains that love to this day (he is now 45).
In 2004 he began two years running Langton’s Sydney Auctions; he worked the vintage at Torbreck, and made repeated visits to other wineries, notably Tyrrell’s. Trips to France extended to both the northern and southern Rhône, the latter including the iconic Rayas and Tempier wineries.
But it was Côte-Rôtie, the guardian of the northern end of the Rhône Valley which fascinated him most, and is (loosely) the incubator of his eponymous winery. Just when you start feeling comfortable with his decision to forgo ownership of any vineyards, and more particularly to work with old vine grenache, shiraz and mourvedre, and the classic tripartite blend of those three varieties, he throws in a cabernet sauvignon. Moreover, with the exception of his grenache rose, it has the lowest alcohol of the wines in his portfolio.
He is also prone to look at the lessons of the past 200 years or so in his unremitting quest for elegance, balance and harmony. He writes that by ‘following a traditional négociant model, an old practice, I have chosen to work with a number of small growers over having my own vineyards. It’s allowed me to spend years understanding the characteristics, strengths and weaknesses of various sites in pursuit of my own style.’
2021 Head Wines Old Vine Barossa Grenache
Hand-picked from vines 35-160yo; foot-trodden, hand-plunged and matured in large format oak. There’s so much happening in the bouquet it’s mesmeric, like a great Burgundy you hesitate to taste for fear of losing the magic of the aromas. Its power takes you deep into its violets and wild orchids.
96 points, drink to 2046, 14.5% alc, Screwcap, $40
2021 Head Red Barossa GSM
Blimey. This is a hell of a wine at $28, picking the best bits of the Old Vine and the humble Head Red grenaches. Thus it borrows structure from the Old Vine, and vibrancy from Head Red. Overall, the balance and harmony brook no dissent.
95 points, drink to 2033, 14% alc, Screwcap, $28
2021 Head Red Barossa Cabernet Sauvignon
Elegance is the feature of all the Head Red wines. Balance is a sine qua non traveller of elegance; drilling down further, Head’s handling of tannin is masterful – as here, at 13.5% alcohol! That’s meant to be impossible, but clearly it’s not: blackcurrant/cassis floods the mouth.
95 points, drink to 2036, 13.5% alc, Screwcap, $28
