Tinto y Blanco » Canberra

Mount Majura Tempranillo 2009

Dave Worthington — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 23:15:03 +0000

A busy week at work last week, perfectly capped off by seeing Blues Explosion at the Espy on Friday night. Great to see these guys in a small venue. Anyway, on to the wine. This wine really stood out at the TempraNeo tasting last year (along with the Mayford), and the thing that attracts me to this wine is that it has personality. Sure, there is a nod to Spain, but this shows firmly individual and unique characters that could only be Mount Majura Tempranillo. This is what we should be doing with Tempranillo in Australia.

One interesting thing that I got out of the TempranNeo is that there seems to be something of a trend towards ‘joven’ or unwooded, young wines with Australian producers. Thats just fine with me, a good sappy and wild young tempranillo in summer is great, but the fruit needs to be absolutely top notch…there is a reason why there is a wine lake of young tempranillo from hot climates in Spain. There are a few locally that can really pull it off, Pondalowie for example, but many producers have a way to go. Still, it’s early days with Tempranillo in Australia.

Pleasing nose of earthy dark fruit, cherry liquor, herbs, eucalyptus (a classic note for this wine) and chinotto. Not sarsaparilla or cola, both are a common descriptor for tempranillo, there is some kind of slightly bitter orange/cola note in there. I’m calling it chintto. Classic medium bodied tempranillo with tangy acid and tannins that gently build as the wine gets more air. Well defined and long, plenty of fruit, but its savoury all the way. Sour cherry, herbs, chinotto and pepper. She got the Flavour! This is setting the pace for Tempranillo in Australia. 92 Pts.

Source: Winery Sample Price: $35 Closure: Screwcap

Web: www.mountmajura.com.au

Mount Majura TSG 2008

Dave Worthington — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:49:17 +0000

Another cracking wine from Mount Majura, this time a blend of Tempranillo (56%) Shiraz (31%) Graciano (13%) aged in older wood. I haven’t seen a lot of Graciano aorund, I’d be interested in seeing what else is being done with this variety here. These kind of blends are really showing potential in Australia, and the resulting show a bit of Spain, a bit of France, but show through very much as Australian. Putting an Aussie stamp on Tempranillo can only be a good thing.

The photos might be a little wierd for the next couple of posts, I’ve upgraded a much more complicated and capable camera (a Canon 7D). However, my skill level still leaves a lot to be desired!

A good robust nose full of cherries and plums,`earthy notes, a little herb and pepper action. Soft and gentle in terms of texture, but the flavour profile is robust. More of that cherry and plum, a little liqorice, some cola notes and black pepper. It’s an open weave kind of wine, easy to drink but highly enjoyable. Excellent value too. 89 Pts.

Source: Winery Sample Price: $21 Closure: Screwcap

Web: www.mountmajura.com.au

Mount Majura Tempranillo 2008

Dave Worthington — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:26:45 +0000

There was a little pile of foam wine mailers in my office when I got back from the US, a couple of bottles from Mouth Majura was stashed away at the bottom. Complete with a hand written note (I haven’t had one of those in years!) from Frank, the winemaker. I’ve had a couple of bottles of this wine, of various vintages, over the years and I’ve always been impressed. But this is taking Canberra Tempranillo to another level. Canberra has a couple of features that make it, on paper at least, an ideal proposition for growing Tempranillo: climate and limestone in the soil. There is an old wifes tale in Spain that the best Tempranillo grows in soil rich in limestone…

In terms of line and length, this is similar to a crianza from Ribera del Duero: the nose offers up cherry, blackberry, licorice, a bit of woody spice and a slight herby note. Its savoury with a bit of sweet fruit mid palate, fine grained tannins balanced out by tangy acid. This shows depth of flavour, character and style. A bit of added mineraly cola on the palate, which is always welcome. A solid example of what can be done with Tempranillo in Australia in the right conditions. 93 Pts.

Source: Winery Sample Price: $35 Closure: Screwcap

Web: www.mountmajura.com.au

Mount Majura Tempranillo 2003

Dave Worthington — Sun, 15 Oct 2006 23:58:55 +0000

I've heard a lot about the Tempranillo produced by the crew at Mount Majura, all very good things of course. The Canberra region is very similar in climate to Rioja Alta, 600-700 meters in elevation, warm enough to get the grapes ripe but very much cool climate. Even the soil types are similar, clay loam with a bit of limestone and volcanic material.

Thats all good in theory, a lot of places are similar to Rioja and produce average wine. If you open up a bottle of this stuff you'll find that the theory seems to work in this case. This is a spectacular wine. This may sound a little over the top, but if this wine from young vines is anything to go buy, this producer will do great things with Tempranillo.

The wine is a dark cherry colour with a purple tint. Aromas of dark cherry, licorice and anise with some leather and rose oil. Savory and beautifully balanced in the mouth with good acid and supple tannins. The oak treatment is very discrete and controlled. Great gobs of concentrated black current and cherry fruit in mouth followed up with a bit of liquorice. The finish is quite long and shows of the soft tannins. How good? Bloody good. 92 Pts.

Source: Winestar Price: $25 Closure: Conventional Cork

Web: www.mountmajura.com.au