2011 SAMUEL’S GORGE MOURVEDRE - RAIN

The rain-tainted vintage of 2011 was written off by pretty much all and sundry before many wines had even completed fermenting, let alone spent a passage of tine in bottle. Several years on, some revisions have been made.

2011 was unquestionably an excellent vintage for sparkling wine. Chardonnay also prospered, the best examples have great structure and need more time in bottle. On this evidence, Mourvedre in McLaren Vale also did pretty well in 2011.

At 15% ABV, it is not a shy and retiring customer. This is a full-bodied wine that hits all of the Mourvedre keys. Earthy complexity is starting to emerge, but one feels there is more to come with this wine. In another 4-5 years it should look very good indeed, cork closure permitting.

2011 SAMUEL’S GORGE MOURVEDRE
Producer: Samuel’s Gorge
Variety: Mourvedre
Region: McLaren Vale, South Australia
ABV: 15.0%
Closure: Natural cork
Retail Price: $40.00
Date tasted: 17 February 2018

Tasting Note:
Bright ruby red. Powerful nose of dark cocoa powder, earth and saturated purple fruits. Dry, fuyll bodied, rich and powerful, savoury maturity starting to emerge. Cocoa, black fruit, slightly earthy. Powdery tannins still evident. Needs more time.
Score: 16.5/20

2004 SPINIFEX TABOR VINEYARD MATARO - BIG DADDY

Mataro aka Mourvedre is one of the Barossa Valley’s strong suits. Bottle age transforms Mataro, allowing its savoury personality to come to the fore. This particular example show cases some of the traits we associate with the variety.

Rich and full bodied, it is near full maturity. The primary fruit has receded, with savoury notes of dried earth and cocoa to the fore. It’s a good wine, but not quite in the class of Hewitson Old Garden Mourvedre.

2004 SPINIFEX TABOR VINEYARD MATARO
Producer: Spinifex
Variety: Mourvedre
Region: Barossa Valley, South Australia
ABV: 15.0%
Closure: Natural cork
Retail Price: N/a
Date tasted: 26 November 2016

Tasting Note:
Deep ruby with some visible signs of development on the rim. Quite shy and retiring on opening. With air, reveals freshly tilled earth, cocoa/chocolate and dark fruits. Full bodied, slightly syrupy in texture, savoury, cocoa/chocolate, dusty herbs, hint of morello cherry. Solid, but doesn’t quite deliver.
Score: 16/20

2011 TORBRECK ‘KYLOE’ MATARO - READY TO GO

For one reason or another, Mataro plays third fiddle to Shiraz and Grenache. Perhaps it’s because it lacks the easy fruit sweetness of the other two. Mataro’s natural savoury tannins may also put a few off. Much is the pity as straight Mataro when mature can be a thing of beauty.

Many would say that Bandol is the reference point for Mataro/Mourvedre. That may well be the case. However, when done well, Barossa Valley Mataro can more than match it with its Provencal rival.

The team at Torbreck know a thing or two about Mataro, making Australia’s most expensive incarnation of the variety. At $30 a bottle, ‘Kyloe’ is a relative bargain. Much has been said and written of the damp 2011 vintage in southern Australia. Relatively little has been said of the vintage’s successes. Without a doubt, this is one of them.

Five years on from vintage, it is mature in a very attractive way – meaty, earthy, gamey and savoury. There is a hell of a lot to like here and a reminder on two fronts a) do not write off a vintage and b) this is why we cellar wine, mature examples can be delicious!

2011 TORBRECK ‘KYLOE’ MATARO
Producer: Torbreck
Variety: Mourvedre
Region: Barossa Valley, South Australia
ABV: 15.0%
Closure: Natural cork
Retail Price: $30.00
Date tasted: 10 March 2015

Tasting Note:
Bright ruby fading slightly at the rim. Meaty and gamey nose, slightly earthbound, floral notes, coffee grinds. Dry, full bodied, savoury, meaty, funky, autumnal. Fully resolved, mature and utterly delicious. Excellent result from a challenging year.
Score: 17.5/20

2004 SPINIFEX INDIGENE - AGEING GRACEFULLY

Spinifex sits among the leading vanguard of boutique Barossa Valley producers. Many will be familiar with the wide range of Rhone Valley and southern French-inspired blends made at Spinifex. Indigene always favours Mourvèdre/Mataro. As a result, it can be a little awkward and stern in its youth.

This 2004 release is just starting to hit its stride after a somewhat difficult adolescence. The tannin framework of youth has all but melted back, leaving a wine that is rich, plush and a genuine pleasure to drink.

A decade on from vintage it remains primary-fruit driven, with just a touch of secondary evolution evident on the nose in the form of tilled earth and tobacco leaf. For many, the wine is ‘in the slot’ for current drinking. However, there is sufficient depth and intensity to suggest that the wine will develop more complexity with a 3-4 years additional cellaring.

2004 SPINIFEX INDIGENE
Producer: Spinifex
Variety: Mourvèdre 64%, Shiraz 36%
Vintage: 2004
Region: Barossa Valley, South Australia
Alcohol: 14.5%
Closure: Natural cork
Retail Price: $65.00
Date tasted: 22 November 2014

Tasting Note:
Deep plum red fading slightly at the rim. Complex bouquet of tobacco, tilled earth, floral notes (lilac, violet), plum, star anise/five spice. Dry, full bodied, sweet fruited up front but quickly moves to savoury. Lush and opulent but well balanced. Satin-like in texture; tannins have fully resolved. Still quite primary and should improve for another 3-4 years.
Score: 17/20

HEWITSON OLD GARDEN MOURVÈDRE - A PIECE OF VINOUS HISTORY

The Barossa Valley is home to some of the world’s oldest Shiraz, Grenache and Mourvèdre vines. Few can be much older and gnarly than the vines that are the source of Dean Hewitson’s Old Garden Mourvèdre. Planted almost 160 years ago in 1853, these vines must be among the oldest vines on the planet to have been in continuous production. Consider the events that have passed since these vines took root on the Barossa Valley floor.

To anyone acquainted with the wines of Bandol, and some of the Mourvèdre-heavy blends of the southern Rhone, this wine is unmistakeably Mourvèdre. In its youth, it is a tautly structured wine, defined by powdery tannin, blackberry/blueberry fruit and dusty Mediterranean herbs. Over a decade in bottle has seen the tannins and primary fruit fade, revealing a complex and slightly earthbound wine that is savoury and gamey.

Although the Hewitson Old Garden Mourvèdre mightn’t ring everybody’s bell, it is a wine that lovers of wine, more particularly, lovers of authentic Australian wine, should try a mature example of at least once in their life.

2001 OLD GARDEN MOURVÈDRE
Producer: Hewitson Wines
Variety: Mourvèdre
Vintage: 2001
Region: Barossa Valley, South Australia
ABV: 14.5%
Closure: Natural Cork
Format: 750ml
Retail price: N/a
Date tasted: 16 June 2012

Tasting Note:
Bright ruby, fading to garnet. Alluring nose of lavender, cocoa, tilled earth, blackberry, dusty herbs, hung game. Dry and savoury, at the medium end of full bodied, tannins have resolved to the point of being imperceptible, quite earthbound, cocoa, rosemary. Good length.
Score: 17/20