I remember a conversation with Peter Stark at Boireann about the challenges visited on the region by the low from Cyclone Debbie that dumped volumes of rain just at the wrong time for vintage. I was in Lismore in June 2017 and saw the aftermath of the surging Wilsons River coming over the top of the Levee for the first time – shop owners in the CBD had drawn lines on the wall “overhead” to mark where the water had been. The Granite Belt may not have been deluged to quite the same extent but the rains were very heavy when they arrived.
On the backdrop of the above I tasted the 2017 Pyramids Road Mourvedre at the cellar door in August 2018 and it seemed as though the grapes had thrived under the conditions. Mourvedre is a late ripening variety and perhaps the rain didn’t effect it, certainly this wine is very different to the 2011 vintage.
Deep red roses at the edges with dark impenetrable depths. As the wine is very young I put it through the decantus for aeration. This is a very redolent young mourvedre, lots of charcuterie, black olives, spices, dusty quarry and loaded with dark berries. Warren appears to have used a little more oak with this vintage than is usual, but the oak is good and the fruit quite powerful and definitely up to the task. The palate is quite lush with black fruits, kalamata olives, spices and black pepper, some gamey meats. The young acid and fine tannins drive the wine long and persistant, the flavours keep returning long after swallowing. I’ve drunk mourvedres from vineyards all over Australia and many Monastrell’s from Spain and I have to recognise that this 2017 is my kind of mourvedre, it has genuine power and unabashed varietal expression combined with a full yet restrained complexity that surprises me in such a young mourvedre, it’s a ripper! I think all mourvedre enthusiasts will love this wine, it’s a big call but the 2017 could be the best mourvedre Warren has made, I’ll be very interested to follow it’s development through the years.
Tasted: Tuesday 23rd April, 2019 without food and then with over several hours. Re-tasted the next day after breathing in refrigerated half bottle overnight.
Alcohol: 14%
Closure: Screwcap
Price: $40
Suggested Drinking Window: Now to 2037
