Winemaker Notes
Round summer red and black fruit interwoven with spicy varietals and great acid balance. Light grippy tannins balance the fruit while firm acid cleanses the mouth for the next sip. Its a Complex and Lithe wine that displays the wonderful potential in this variety and aromatic lightness sometimes missing in wines from the Barossa.
The 2017 ‘Waxing Lyrical’ is a 30% whole-bunch Mataro crafted from equal portions of two different clones of Mataro. Half was grown by John Lienert (the Clare Clone) and half by Peter Sonntag (his Mataro plantings were sourced from Old Vines that were originally planted in the Langmeil area and sadly were lost to housing in the late 90s).
In 2017 I picked both blocks of Mataro on Sequential days, with The Sonntag delivered late afternoon of the 20th and the Lienert ‘Clare Clone’ Arriving late morning on the 21st. The Sonntag Mataro, was hand picked & delivered whole-bunch. We layered the equivalent of 30% of the combined weight of the Sonntag Mataro on the bottom of the fermenter then destemmed thebalance of the Sonntag plus the Lienert ‘Clare Clone’ Mataro over the top. This created a protected environment for the Carbonic Maceration to take place, whilst the co-fermentation essentially let these separate clones learn to sing together. Once the fermenters had been laid out on the ‘slab’, the must was carefully hand plunged three times a day, ensuring the whole bunch wasn’t disturbed, but the cap was well turned over. This process took place for 10 days until the whole bunches started to rise. This lifting of the whole bunches signified that Carbonic Maceration was well under way and that plunging would now go all the way to the bottom. This continued for a further 6 days until the ferment stopped capping (16 days of active ferment). The skins were then sealed down with heavy duty ‘cling film’ and the fermenters covered to keep any unwanted visitors away for a total of 44 days on skins. After basket pressing each parcel was filled with full solids to seasoned oak hogsheads for 12 months aging.
This wine was made with the philosophy of minimal intervention as the guiding principal, and apart from minimal sulfur dioxide for preservation and a little tartaric acid for balance is free from additions or fining and has been ‘bottled’ without filtration. The 2017 ‘waxing lyrical Mataro is a remarkably delicious example (if i don’t say so myself) of the lifted lyrical nature of this delicious variety.
Full of ripe fruit, and robust, earthy goodness, Mourvèdre is actually of Spanish provenance, where it still goes by the name Monastrell or Mataro. It is better associated however, with the Red Blends of the Rhône, namely Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Mourvèdre shines on its own in Bandol and is popular both as a single varietal wine in blends in the New World regions of Australia, California and Washington. Somm Secret—While Mourvèdre has been in California for many years, it didn’t gain momentum until the 1980s when a group of California winemakers inspired by the wines of the Rhône Valley finally began to renew a focus on it.
The Barossa Zone encompasses the Barossa Valley and Eden Valley. Some of the oldest vines in Australia can be found here.
Barossa Valley of course is the most important and famous wine growing region in all of Australia where 140+ year-old, dry-farmed Shiraz vines still produce inky, purple and dense juice for some of Australia's best wines.
In the cooler, wetter Eden Valley sub-region, the Hill of Grace vineyard is home to famous Shiraz vines from the 1800s but the region produces also some of Australia’s very best and age-worthy Rieslings.