Head Wines was founded in 2006 by Alex Head, a self-taught winemaker who built a reputation for Rhone-influenced Barossa reds. 'The Brunette' has traditionally drawn on the old ironstone and deep red-brown clay soils of the Moppa district in the northern Barossa Valley, prized for structure and longevity. Critic notes for the 2021, however, reference Flaxman Valley and Moculta fruit in the higher, cooler Eden Valley, suggesting Head sourced from more elevated sites for this release. The 2021 growing season across the Barossa and Eden Valley was cool and slow-ripening, retaining natural acidity and giving wines of freshness and detail. Farming is low-intervention and site-focused.

The 2021 was made as a shiraz-dominant wine with a small cabernet sauvignon component of around 10 per cent, with roughly 15 per cent whole bunches included in the ferment to add lift and spice. After fermentation the wine was matured in French oak, about 30 per cent new, for around 17 months before bottling. Head favours gentle handling, restrained extraction and a light touch with new oak so that fruit and site character lead. The result is textural and resonant, with granitic tannins framed by bright acidity and a long, supple finish.