2007 Shiraz GAM

The 2007 Mitolo Shiraz G.A.M., aged in 70% new oak (80% French and 20% American) and the rest in one and two year old barrels, for 16 months, is a full, ripe Shiraz that’s loaded with cassis and blackberry like fruits, lead pencil, tobacco, and graphite aromas. Full bodied and beautifully rich and polished on the palate, with sweet fruit, a silky, full texture, low acidity, and solid length on the finish, this round, lush and hedonistically styled wine should be consumed over the coming 5-8 years.

Inky violet color. Seductively perfumed scents of blackberry, mulberry, candied plum and smoky Indian spices. Ripe, fleshy and gently sweet, offering assertive dark berry and anise flavors and slow-building tannins. Repeats the anise and mulberry notes on the long, sappy, alluringly spicy, peppery finish. This wine is already showing very good complexity.

The higher-end wines begin with the 2007 G.A.M. Shiraz. Purple-colored, it offers an alluring bouquet of spice box, black cherry, blueberry, and a hint of chocolate. This leads to a concentrated, ripe, layered wine with excellent depth and length. Already complex, it will continue to evolve with another several years of cellaring. Drink it from 2011 to 2020. Mitolo, which began operations in 1999, is a partnership of the Mitolo family and winemaker Ben Glaetzer. The focus is on McLaren Vale fruit from Willunga, the most southern part of the district. The 2007 vintage with its drought conditions and decreased production have resulted in wines from Mitolo that are merely outstanding rather than sublime. The value-priced Jester series was reviewed in Issue 178. Importer: Vintus LLC, Pleasantville, NY; www.mitolowines.com.au