2019 The Pict

I do love varietal Mataro. Earthy, tannic, muscular, a touch rustic, always plush, and there's something really mouthfilling and satisfying about it. Like a stew in winter. Here, the 2019 The Pict Mataro is so big—bigger than the 2018 that preceded it—and layered with brooding dark fruit, resinous spice and toasty, charry oak. The finish pushes a plume of heat and warmth into the throat, the alcohol revealing the warm season that birthed it. This remains the benchmark Barossa Mataro in my opinion; perhaps it was my early dealings with it, or the pleasure I found in the early 2000s museum re-releases. Either way, this is what Mataro will do under the heat of the Barossa sun.