Mitchelton Wines
Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2012 9:17 pm
I visited Mitchelton on the last day of the financial year, to find them in a degree of turmoil. There has been a change of ownership, with refurbishment starting. As a result, the restaurant is closed for a few months, cellar door will be relocating, and they had just commenced a run-out sale of wines surplus to restaurant requirements. When I pulled up at just before noon, I wondered why some many people were wielding trolleys….
Apart from the feeding frenzy down one end of cellar door, I was one of a small number of customers over the next 90 minutes or so, and I was delighted to receive personalised service from Annie who has been there 25 years, and considered the wines ‘her babies’. She went the extra mile, including opening fresh bottles for most wines, and it was appreciated.
Now to the wines:
2011 Blackwood Park Riesling. Pale yellow. Lemon, lime and some florals, with a hint of ginger and musk. Crisp, but I have seen Rieslings with sharper acid. This made me wonder about ageing potential until…..
2003 Blackwood Park Riesling. Big kero whiff to start off with, but settled down quickly to show lime cordial still balanced by clean acid.
2009 Chardonnay. Slightly savoury style, with neither fruit, oak or acid dominating.
2009 Marsanne. Unlike nearby Tahbilk, Mitchelton’s marsannes see some oak. This three year old is still pale yellow, with a mix of lemon peel, slight nutty tang, and honeydew melon and a hint of spice.
1999 Marsanne. This apparently underwent malo as well as oak maturation, and is a style Mitchelton could/will return to in small batches. It is under cork, and perhaps the slight dusty character is a consequence. I think it is fully mature, and the malo and bottle age have given it some textural creaminess.
2011 Airstrip. Marsanne, Roussanne, Viognier blend. I thought it was unwooded, but apparently not. Regardless, a tropical fruit salad, kiwi fruit, ripe pear, and a hint of musk.
And then to the reds….
2010 The Crescent. A Shiraz, Mourvedre, Grenache blend. A bell-clear, garnet red. Medium bodied, and with a few things going on courtesy of the blend. Mouthfilling without being too rich, this would be a good tapas red, with albondingas and a spot of tabasco in the sauce.
Then Annie got serious. I’d also like to observe that Annie was always quick to bring out clean Spiegelaus, as well.
2006 Heathcote Shiraz. A step up entirely. A masculine wine, with blueberry and mulberry alongside some chocolate and earthiness. Medium grained tannins add texture without being crunchy. For me, this has something in common with Rhone Valley shiraz, and I was suitably impressed.
2009 Print Series Shiraz. If the Heathcote is masculine, then this is the femme fatale. Plush and satiny, with the plum and mulberry characters well supported by perfectly integrated French oak. A very long finish, and simply fabulous.
1999 Print Series Shiraz. Possibly not as feminine and elegant as its younger sister, nevertheless, a captivating wine. Dusty tannins and a much lighter colour were the main differences.
I was so taken with the Print Series wines that four vintages are following me home, along with some Heathcote shiraz, and….
2011 Botrytis Riesling. A sticky version of the Blackwood Park dry Riesling, and 2011 was definitely the year to do it! Lovely lemon lime brulee, with a hint of ginger, this is quite forward in colour already, and I have bought a six pack for early consumption. I would be happy to be proved wrong on the ageing front, however.
All in all, I was pleasantly surprised by the range and especially the quality of shiraz. I look forward to revisiting when the restaurant (in the tower) reopens.
Cheers
Allan
Apart from the feeding frenzy down one end of cellar door, I was one of a small number of customers over the next 90 minutes or so, and I was delighted to receive personalised service from Annie who has been there 25 years, and considered the wines ‘her babies’. She went the extra mile, including opening fresh bottles for most wines, and it was appreciated.
Now to the wines:
2011 Blackwood Park Riesling. Pale yellow. Lemon, lime and some florals, with a hint of ginger and musk. Crisp, but I have seen Rieslings with sharper acid. This made me wonder about ageing potential until…..
2003 Blackwood Park Riesling. Big kero whiff to start off with, but settled down quickly to show lime cordial still balanced by clean acid.
2009 Chardonnay. Slightly savoury style, with neither fruit, oak or acid dominating.
2009 Marsanne. Unlike nearby Tahbilk, Mitchelton’s marsannes see some oak. This three year old is still pale yellow, with a mix of lemon peel, slight nutty tang, and honeydew melon and a hint of spice.
1999 Marsanne. This apparently underwent malo as well as oak maturation, and is a style Mitchelton could/will return to in small batches. It is under cork, and perhaps the slight dusty character is a consequence. I think it is fully mature, and the malo and bottle age have given it some textural creaminess.
2011 Airstrip. Marsanne, Roussanne, Viognier blend. I thought it was unwooded, but apparently not. Regardless, a tropical fruit salad, kiwi fruit, ripe pear, and a hint of musk.
And then to the reds….
2010 The Crescent. A Shiraz, Mourvedre, Grenache blend. A bell-clear, garnet red. Medium bodied, and with a few things going on courtesy of the blend. Mouthfilling without being too rich, this would be a good tapas red, with albondingas and a spot of tabasco in the sauce.
Then Annie got serious. I’d also like to observe that Annie was always quick to bring out clean Spiegelaus, as well.
2006 Heathcote Shiraz. A step up entirely. A masculine wine, with blueberry and mulberry alongside some chocolate and earthiness. Medium grained tannins add texture without being crunchy. For me, this has something in common with Rhone Valley shiraz, and I was suitably impressed.
2009 Print Series Shiraz. If the Heathcote is masculine, then this is the femme fatale. Plush and satiny, with the plum and mulberry characters well supported by perfectly integrated French oak. A very long finish, and simply fabulous.
1999 Print Series Shiraz. Possibly not as feminine and elegant as its younger sister, nevertheless, a captivating wine. Dusty tannins and a much lighter colour were the main differences.
I was so taken with the Print Series wines that four vintages are following me home, along with some Heathcote shiraz, and….
2011 Botrytis Riesling. A sticky version of the Blackwood Park dry Riesling, and 2011 was definitely the year to do it! Lovely lemon lime brulee, with a hint of ginger, this is quite forward in colour already, and I have bought a six pack for early consumption. I would be happy to be proved wrong on the ageing front, however.
All in all, I was pleasantly surprised by the range and especially the quality of shiraz. I look forward to revisiting when the restaurant (in the tower) reopens.
Cheers
Allan