TN: MyattsField Mourvedre 2014

[Waiters Friend]

Sourced from the winery's own vineyards in the Perth Hills. Purple red in colour.

Spicy nose with raspberry, blueberries and vanilla. There's also some earthiness which is typical of the variety, but the fruits dominate.

The palate is medium bodied, with milk chocolate and hints of coffee over the top of the fruit, and well supported by acid. Tannins are firm but not overly prominent and the finish is medium to long.

There's more development left in this, and probably will improve over the next 3-5 years.

Cheers
Allan

[Mahmoud Ali]

Thanks for the note Allan.

Are there many straight mourvedres these days? I know of d'Arenberg's Twenty Eight Road, Hewitson's Ancient Vines, and Torbreck's 'The Pict', and once upon a time Jenke had one made from a vineyard over a hundred years old.

I don't have many mourvedres in my cellar, just a smattering of old and new world. One of my cellaring experiments was with a highly acclaimed vintage of a Spanish mourvedre. It was a 2001 from Castano and Parker scored it 91 points, with 4 to 5 years of drinking. I enjoyed it when young and decided to cellar a few. Some years ago, perhaps when it was a decade old, I found it rather dull and lifeless so I left it alone. Last year, I opened another bottle and it was lovely, in the dry, leathery, cherry-skin vein and very much in need of food. I was very pleased.

Now I'm not saying that your MyattdField will necessarily last that long but who knows. Are planning of cellaring a few?

Mahmoud.

[Waiters Friend]

Hi Mahmoud.

There's a number of South Australian wineries producing Mataro (which is Mourvedre). Kay Brothers in McLaren Vale, for example, make a solid example.

Australian Mourvedres seem to be a bit of an 'each way bet'. They can be enjoyable when young, but there's generally something to be gained with a few years' age. I've had the MyattsFields up to 10 years old, and not been disappointed. 7-8 is probably the peak for these, in my experience.

Cheers
Allan