Wednesday Wines – Episode 320 – Mitolo’s Amazing New Releases
I am very fortunate to have known Frank Mitolo and his McLaren Vale wines for a very long time, and each year, Mitolo sends me snapshot samples of their new releases. Interestingly, despite Mitolo taking a year out from my 100 Best initiative, this winery has consistently ranked among the top 20 wineries in the country since the inception of my annual initiative. I have picked my very favourites from the current crop of releases, and it’s fair to say that the wines noted below are some of the finest they have ever released. Thank you, Justin McCarthy, for arranging the safe delivery of the bottles!
WHITE
2025 Mitolo, Perduto Pecorino 13%
Bitter, pithy, skinsy and crammed with fresh-picked lemons and vivid green herbs, this is a chalky, pristine Pecorino with flickers of electricity at the centre of every wave of flavour breaking on your tongue. It is, without doubt, the greatest Pecorino I have ever tasted. I never realised this oft-awkward grape variety could ever reach these levels of grace, dynamism and splendour. 18.5/20
RED
2022 Mitolo, Jester Cabernet Sauvignon 14.5%
The Jester reds are up there with the best value ‘second label wines’ in the country, and this Cabernet is focused, structured and imposing. As always, this is a hugely impressive wine for the money, and unlike others, it always blossoms at around four years of age and runs for a decade, hence the ‘+’ in my score! 17.5+/20
2023 Mitolo, Jester Shiraz 14.9%
This is a very impressive wine with a much grander feel than many at this price. The nose is exotic, spicy, herbal, and dry, and, like the Cabernet, it will come into its own in the New Year and then roll forward like a sleek black limo! 17.5+/20
2021 Mitolo, G.A.M. Shiraz 14.5%
G.A.M. has always been a sublime creation with a velvety stance on the palate and superb balance. This is an unhurried and yet grand creation, and with five years under its belt, it is already harmonious, succulent and classy. This is a superb wine to introduce newcomers to the upper echelons of this winery. 18/20
2021 Mitolo, Serpico Cabernet Sauvignon 14.8%
I have a place in my heart for this extraordinarily clever wine. The Cabernet grapes are dried a touch, and this concentrated juice is fermented and matured in a variety of oak formats of varying age. The result is a beguiling blend of concentration and freshness. Calm, restrained and silky blackcurrant fruit is followed by a toothsome, structured finish, spiked with the merest hints of resin and stem, and these green elements maintain freshness and lift in this imposing wine. You will even find red fruit notes and rose petals among the cassis-avalanche if you look closely. This wraith-like wine never fails to impress, and in ’21 it is a stunner. 18.5/20
2022 Mitolo, Savitar Shiraz 14.5%
Savitar ups the intensity, muscle, and stature, making it more serious and more menacing than G.A.M. In addition, the tannins are impressive, immovable and intense. That said, the fruit quality is amazing, upholstered and theatrical in the way it swarms and then romances every taste bud. 2022 is one of the finest vintages of Savitar since its inception, and I imagine it will age for a decade or more if cellared correctly. 18.5+/20
2022 Mitolo, Mescia Super McLaren 14.8%
Mescia is, as its name suggests, a twist on the McLaren Vale norm, adding a couple of Frank’s beloved Italian red varietals to a core of elite McL Cabernet Sauvignon. I usually find Italaussies somewhat discordant, but the quality of the Sangiovese and Montepulciano used here is clearly top-notch, and the resulting wine sits in a field of one, enjoying its unique vista! I would hate to be served this blind, but I imagine it is the one people pick from the range to show you how open-minded, experimental and pioneering Frank and his team have become over the years. And you should taste it, too. 18+/20
2020 Mitolo, Marsican Shiraz 14.4%
I was sent the very first vintage of this wine (the 2014) and then had to swear an oath of secrecy, such was the covert nature of this prestige label! Of course, this is made from the very finest Shiraz fruit on the property, and the resulting flavours are indeed incredible. But what I find so impressive is that the oak and tannin are both in lock step with the glorious fruit, ensuring that the drinker is rewarded with a wine of uncommon scale and harmony. Complimenti. 19+/20