Winemaker Notes
Aromas typical of the Mataro (Mourvedré) variety leap from the glass such as blue plum and maraschino cherry, boysenberry, wild thyme, charcuterie, beef jus, fennel seed and sarsaparilla root. A earthy and meaty wine that is soft and textural whilst holding a dense mouthfeel with plush brambly fruits and soft enveloping tannins which bind the palate seamlessly and ensure a very pleasurable experience.
Match with roasted red meats or full flavoured slow cooked dishes.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
The nose is savory and deeply brooding, with aromas of blood plums, dark chocolate, mulberry bush and cured meat. The palate is medium-bodied with firmly integrated tannins and bright acidity, giving notes of blackberry compote, tobacco leaves, cedar and bay leaves. Firmly structured with a generous texture that will develop nicely in bottle. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 The Pict Mataro is from a vintage that may always sit in the shadow of the excellent 2021 that came before it, yet for me, the 2022s have been such excellent and sometimes quieter iterations that I find myself preferring them more and more. As to which will be longer lived, time will tell, but 2022 is not a vintage to be underestimated. The wine leads with macerated cherries, pomegranate molasses, goji berries, black peppercorns and tapenade. On the palate, the wine is creamy and gravelly and a little boozy through the finish, and yet the fruit wears it well. I clarified the following with winemaker Ian Hongell (from my note written last year): "The fruit is from a 1901 planting, planted in the middle of a paddock. 'There's sheep and one tree. And some rocks,' says winemaker Ian Hongell." He agrees; this is the case with the vineyard. The vines were planted 124 years ago and produce wines with close-knit gravelly tannins, silky fruit and persistent length. This is another Torbreck wine that speaks so clearly of Barossa.
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.
Historically and presently the most important wine-producing region of Australia, the Barossa Valley is set in the Barossa zone of South Australia, where more than half of the country’s wine is made. Because the climate is very hot and dry, vineyard managers work diligently to ensure grapes reach the perfect levels of phenolic ripeness.
The intense heat is ideal for plush, bold reds, particularly Shiraz on its own or Rhône Blends. Often Shiraz and Cabernet partner up for plump and powerful reds.
While much less prevalent, light-skinned varieties such as Riesling, Viognier or Semillon produce vibrant Barossa Valley whites.
Most of Australia’s largest wine producers are based here and Shiraz plantings date back as far as the 1850s or before. Many of them are dry farmed and bush trained, still offering less than one ton per acre of inky, intense, purple juice.