Winemaker Matt Wenk
Tasting Notes The Monte (as the variety is often abbreviated to) Hails from Abruzzo in central eastern Italy on the coast with the Adriatic Sea. Now grown in McLaren Vale, Smidge is exploring new varietals from the region. Matured in two year old French oak barrique, this wine is dark red/purple with an intense magenta rim. On the nose, the wine is fresh and rich with a mix of plums, sour cherries, lavender, dried herbs and subtle charcuterie Flowing onto the palate, the wine has a juicy purple fruited early palate, full of plums and cherries with a vibrant acidity throughout the palate balancing the fleshy fine tannins giving a long finish
Cellaring Under appropriate storage conditions, Smidge recommends drinking this wine within the next 10 to 15 years.
Viticulture 2020 was warm and dry, although the cool nights were a godsend. With careful irrigation management and canopy retention the fruit ripened evenly and was machine harvested in pristine condition. This 100% Monte is also 100% single vineyard from a gentle southerly sloping block in the Tatachilla subregion in McLaren Vale. Being a new variety to the region, the vines are not very old. The soil in the block is predominantly brown loam over limestone with the rows running east/west and the trellis is a single cordon pseudo sprawl with one catch wire.
Vinification & Maturation Hand picked and destemmed only. No additions and wild fermentation, which was even and lasted 12 days with a maximum temperature of 28OC. Total time on skins was 30 days. Upon pressing, the free run and pressings were blended to tank. After 24 hours, the wine was racked to two year old French barrique for 18 months, during which time malolactic fermentation occurred and the wines were racked twice. Prior to bottling the best 6 barrels were selected, then blended and lightly fined, but not filtered.