[ad_1]
Again then, tempranillo was “various”. Now, as McLaren Vale winemaker Malcolm Leask – one in all a whole bunch of tempranillo producers throughout the nation – informed me recently: “It’s gone mainstream … Youthful cool people [are] like: ‘Aw, I like temp, superior.’” And a part of that success is all the way down to the way in which winemakers helped one another within the early days.
A detailed-up of an Oliver’s mencia grape. The winery was the primary to develop the variability in Australia.
One of many individuals who drove these tempranillo tastings again within the early 2000s was Peter Leske of La Linea within the Adelaide Hills. It’s no shock, then, to search out Leske can be a member of the Mencia Society.
“We grafted some mencia onto some outdated semillon vines a number of years in the past,” says Leske. “And I’ve to say that, as a lot as I like the wines that tempranillo makes, mencia is simpler to develop. And it produces wines with a youthful uncooked fruitiness that could be very a lot a la mode.”
Bernice Ong and Julian Forwood of Ministry of Clouds additionally grafted mencia cuttings onto some outdated cabernet sauvignon vines of their McLaren Vale winery 4 years in the past.
“Each of us had been actually within the selection and the wines we’d tasted from Spain,” says Ong. “So we thought we’d see what we might do with it ourselves. It’s a piece in progress, so it was good enjoyable to meet up with different winemakers who’re working with it, to see what everybody’s doing.”
Oliver’s began by making rosé from mencia however now makes a pink too.
One of many the explanation why mencia might nicely take off is that, like tempranillo, it’s very versatile, producing every part from crisp, mild dry rosé to drink-now, slurpy kinds, to fuller-bodied, savoury reds destined for cellaring.
Oliver’s Taranga was the primary to launch an Australian mencia – it made solely a rosé from the grapes for the preliminary couple of vintages, however then from 2016 began making a pink wine, too.
“It’s been lots of enjoyable,” says Nicky Connolly, advertising supervisor at Oliver’s, who remembers serving to to plant the primary mencia vines again in 2011. “We referred to as the primary rosé ‘Chica’ as a result of it was us women within the workforce who went out and picked it. And we’ve saved the custom ever since.”
After the inaugural assembly of the Mencia Society, Alan Varney kindly despatched me a number of bottles to strive.
“We had been so impressed with what we tasted,” he says, “we determined we should share this discover.”
I used to be equally impressed. So now, expensive reader, I’m sharing my impressions of 5 of the perfect Australian mencias (those that haven’t bought out), with you.
Tasting mencia
2019 La Linea Mencia [Adelaide Hills]
Good-value instance of high-quality mencia, with darkish, intense purple fruit aromas main on to vibrant bitter cherry flavours and daring, slippery tannins on the tongue. An excellent introduction to the variability. $29 lalinea.com.au
2019 d’Arenberg The Anthropocene Epoch Mencia [McLaren Vale]
Winemaker Alan Varney first got here throughout mencia working at d’Arenberg a number of years in the past, and it’s good to see that inspiration proceed: exhibiting a bit of extra savoury growth and oak than the opposite wines right here, with pretty, sinewy, ferruginous tannins typical of the vineyard. $30 darenberg.com.au
2020 Ministry of Clouds Mencia [McLaren Vale]
A vibrant, medium-bodied, notably vinous instance of mencia: entire berries cold-soaked earlier than wild ferment plus a portion of entire bunches have introduced a stunning pot-pourri-like perfume to the variability’s scrumptious bitter cherry fruit. $38. ministryofclouds.com.au
2020 Oliver’s Taranga Mencia [McLaren Vale]
Like all of the mencias right here, this can be a actually engaging deep, dense pink color. It has notably floral, red-fruit-juicy aromatics, and that juiciness carries by way of onto the tongue, with the wine ending taut and savoury, crying out for meals. $35 oliverstaranga.com
2021 Varney Wines Mencia [McLaren Vale]
Constructed from the identical winery because the Oliver’s (albeit from a unique classic), in a extra up-front, drink-now fashion: super-ripe black cherry fruit leaps from the glass and tumbles throughout the palate. At this youthful stage it doesn’t have fairly the identical savoury grip or focus as the opposite wines right here, however it is going to be enormously interesting to lots of people. $35 varneywines.com.au
[ad_2]
Source link