Mitolo Wines is part of the Mitolo Group. This group includes one of the largest potato and onion producers in the Southern Hemisphere and is also one of the largest Olive Oil suppliers through ollo Oils. Frank Mitolo, who manages the whole group had an interest in wine that took him to amateur wine making in the 1990’s and undertaking wine making course led to Mitolo Wines. Ben Glaetzer can on board as a business partner and winemaker in 2001. Ben is no longer the winemaker but his influence remains with the Reiver Shiraz which is Barossa sourced fruit. The most of the fruit in Mitolo Wines comes from the Sellicks area of McLaren Vale.
In early 2013 a Mitolo Wines cellar door was opened in the “The Producers” facility on Branson Road, McLaren Vale. Seeing it was so close I just had to drop in and try the wines………
Jester Range
2012 Vermentino ($22)
Another wine of this variety that is making it’s way into the market. Still considered an emerging variety and I am seeing quite a variation in quality while the vineyards and winemakers are finding out how to best treat this variety. This wine I find intriguing. Not for the nectarine, citrus and dried herb character, but for the low alcohol crispness (showing not all wines need to be alcohol monsters) and the almost salty finish. This salty finish makes me think of seafood – particularly sardines. Not the sardines in a can but fresh sardines skewered and BBQ grilled. If you have not tried this variety before then I suggest this wine is one to try.
2012 Sangiovese Rose ($22)
Firstly it is great to see a Rose being made in the vineyard and winery as Rose – not just some free run juice or a portion of juice separated from the skins leaving the rest to make the “serious” wine. Here the grapes were hand picked, cold soaked overnight and then the juice removed from the skins quickly. This is the style Australians should drink more of a dry light wine just made for lunch time consumption. There are layers of creaminess, red fruits, cleansing acid and a savory finish. Bring on the Ploughmans Lunch.
2010 Shiraz ($25)
This wine spends 14 months in the barrels used the previous vintage for the GAM Shiraz and helps to produce a good everyday drinking Shiraz that has the McLaren Vale traits of plums and dark blackberry. The French oak use is obvious more with the aromas as the wine has a very soft tannin structure that tells me this wine is ready to be consumed now. With the softer tannins I could see this wine being consumed at a Chinese Banquet with things like sizzling steak, Mongolian Lamb and Chicken with Black Bean.
2010 Cabernet Sauvignon ($25)
20% of this wine is made in the traditional Amarone style where the grapes are picked and placed on drying racks. The drying concentrates the flavours before the grapes are crushed and wine made. In this case the grapes come from McLaren Vale and are transported to Virginia (North of Adelaide) and placed on Potato drying racks.
The wine is currant and pip centric. The intense plum and currant character invades both the aromas and flavours. The tannins give you the feel that you are crunching on some ripe grape pips. The concentrated elements lead to a lingering after effect. Well worth your 25 bucks. I am thinking BBQ lamb chops with this one.
Mitolo Wines lineup
Single Vineyard Wines
2009 GAM Shiraz ($58)
When I first herd about this wine I was trying to work out what the blend was – Grenache and something and something with the Shiraz. I could not have complicated this or been more off the mark. The GAM is the first letter of each of the Mitolo children.
Made from single vineyard fruit from the Sellicks area of McLaren Vale this fruit gets to know new french oak barrels quite well. Sweet oak notes mixed with the perfume of fresh plums and some dried herbs sees a silky smooth wine that is not over oaked as there is plenty of fruit character to soak up all the oak it has seen. I suggest this wine needs to see a few more years in the bottle before it would go well with a beef wellington.
2009 Reiver Shiraz ($58)
Sometimes one cannot get away from the Barossa and this is one of those times through the influence of Ben Glaetzer who is a partner in the business. The Reiver Shiraz fruit is sourced from Greenock and wars the Barossa all over it. The wine is dark and brooding with the hints of plum, raspberry and licorice. There is a deep earthiness here that has dried oregano mixed with just a vanilla hint (some American oak here I sense). Needs time and food.
2009 Savitar Shiraz ($80)
Selected rows were kept aside from the vineyard. This fruit was from the rows next to the Almond trees. Why does this matter, I hear you ask. Well the trees compete for the soil moisture and thus these vines are more water stressed thus producing lower yields. With the lower yields the flavour from the vineyard is packed into less grapes and thus these berries have more flavour than the rest of the vineyard. In 2 words the wine is intense and smooth. I suspect there has been some American oak used here as a minor oak component as one can get the toasty sweetness of the oak of the American kind. Plums and blackberries packed around some dried herbs with a somewhat mouth drying (tannin) finish. Needs lots more time in the bottle before getting let loose.
2008 Serpico Cabernet Sauvignon ($80)
A fully Amarone style as discussed above. The wine was fermented on skins for 2 weeks and then left on skins for another 3 weeks before pressing. This delay in pressing helps soften the wine as the Amarone process can produce aggressive tannins. I have only tried a few Amarone style Cabernets and I was really taken with this one. There was intense fruit character with the same dried herbs I got with most of the other reds. This tells me that the oak that these wines see is similar across the range. I also get a hint of eucalyptus and menthol or mint. The tannins are very much in balance here and all that is needed is a bit of time. As an indicator – I do not drink much Cabernet but I took a bottle of this home with me.