Wine4Freaks

Can a wine be complex and have 15% of alcohol at the same time? That was one of the questions Australian winemaker Ben Glaetzer met in a tasting the other day in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was presenting the newest vintage 2004 from his venture with Frank Mitolo - Mitolo Wines from South Australia. High quality wines, bottled only a few weeks ago and wines which will hit the shelves in November.  In fact the following ratings are among the first for these wines.

Mitolo Wines is one of Ben Glaetzer’s businesses. He is also involved in the family winery Glaetzer Wine, his own Heartland-range and at his winery in Barossa Valley he makes a total of 1.400 different wines for several Australian producers and wineries. Among the best known is Amon-Ra which has received high ratings from all over the world.

Mitolo Wines - Shiraz with complexity
I’ll have to start with answering the question from the introduction. Yes a wine can be complex and have 15% of alc. - why not? Complexity has nothing to do with alcohol but is about how the climate, the vineyard, the grapes - terroir - is represented in the wines. And the Mitolo wines are just that! They represent Barossa or McLaren Vale beautifully. They are  fruity and have lots of mineral and a certain “coolness” which is seldom found in wines from this area. They are not at all jammy or over extracted - in fact they have great complexity! And that’s one of the reasons they are great wines…

The 2004 is the 5Th. year for Mitolo Wines. The wine is sourced from vineyards in McLaren Vale and Barossa Valley - some with vines over 60 years of age. The production is about 420,000 bottles per year of which Apr. 280,000 go the entry level Jester wine. I tasted the following wines all from 2004:

2004 Jester Cabernet Sauvignon - McLaren Vale
This wine is partly made in an Amarone style with dried fruit. On the nose it has blackberry, mint, pepper and some roasted notes. It is medium-bodied with ripe fruit and a some oxidized notes. A bit special with a sweet but mouth filling ending.
88/100 pts.  - €15 / $18

2004 Jester Shiraz - McLaren Vale
On the nose you’ll find cherry, pepper, licorice and some plum notes. It’s medium-bodied with a delicious straightforward fruit and a nice balance and structure. Drink it over the next couple of years. Good buy!
90/100 pts. - €15 / $18

2004 Reiver Shiraz - Barossa Valley
The wine has a clear red-purple color. You’ll find cherry, mint, anise in the spicy nose. It’s full-bodied with good ripe fruit, very soft tannins and a spicy touch. This beauty ends long and with a certain coolness and a sweet touch. Drink it over the next 5-6 years.
93/100 pts. - €35 / $45

2004 G.A.M. Shiraz - McLaren Vale
A bit closed in the nose with hints of blackberry, cherry, licorice, pepper. Full-bodied with enormous delicious  and ripe fruit and soft tannins with an intense and concentrated palate. In the end you’ll find coolness and finesse and a very long ending. A super wine! Drink it over the next 7-8 years.
96/100 pts. - €35 / $45

2004 Savitar Shiraz - McLaren Vale
Deep and intense black purple color. In the nose blackberry, mocca, chocolate. This is full-bodied. A very powerful, intense and concentrated wine with a perfect structure and balance. Even though it is so intense it’s not without finesse and complexity. The ending is 60 sec.+. Give it a year or two in the cellar and enjoy it over the following 7-8 years.
97/100 pts. - €40 / $50

2004 Serpico Cabernet Sauvignon - McLaren Vale
The wine is made in an Amarone style, leaving the grapes to dry for 8 weeks on drying racks. Ben Glaetzer use this method in order to give the wine more substance in the middle. In the nose the wine shows cassis, pepper and vanilla. It’s full-bodied and rather powerful with a spicy touch and some sweet fruit notes in the end. A bit heavy - but no doubt a lovely wine.
92/100 pts. - €40 / $50