Mayer PinotI love the cheeky label. The fruit for this special wine comes from one acre of close planted Pinot on the Mayer vineyard and is a selection massale, mostly from the Old Back at De Bortoli (MV4 and 5) and The Drive (MV6). The vines are planted 75 cm apart (almost 6000/ha) and as a result are very low cropping. It includes 30% whole bunch in the ferment in order to “bring back the funk” in the words of winemaker Timo Mayer who is, as ever, ready and waiting to take your call on 1800 timomayer@bigpond.com.au

Really fragrant whole bunch characters coupled with red fruit, spice, fennel and clean soil make for a dynamic, uplifting and aromatically charged wine. On the palate medium bodied with spicy creamy red fruit, licorice and minerally earthy flavours of excellent concentration, clarity and weight. It has fresh acidity and fine lightly stemmy tannins that present with a quiet air of authority - gentle yet firm - and a good long finish closing with flavours of licorice and a little stalk. A wine with an abundance of personality and character and one that’s an absolute pleasure to drink. I only wish there were more like it.

Rated : 95 Points
Tasted : Jan08
Alcohol : 13.5%
Price : $50
Closure : Diam
Drink : 2008 - 2014
Source : Winery Sample

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