CELLAR DOOR

2023 Brothers McLean Mencía

Not surprisingly this release from Brothers Mclean really grabbed our attention. Made by very good winemakers, Alex & Peter McLean this wine is alluring & layered. Produced with Mencía (“Men-thee-ah”) from the Pyrenees. A grape originally from Western Spain and Portugal is a delicious middleweight red that is full of red and black fruit flavours, minerality and fine tannins.

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VARIETY

Mencía

REGION

Vineyard – Pyrenees

Winemaking – Mornington Peninsula

ALCOHOL

13.3% Vol

COLOUR

Rich ruby with a touch of garnet.

BOUQUET

Black cherry & red plum with a liquorice spice & violet aromas.

WINEMAKER

Alex & Peter McLean.

PALATE

Crunchy red & black fruits rounded out with a velvety tannin… beautifully balanced.

VINEYARD

Fruit came from the Quartz Hill vineyard in Lamplough in the Pyrenees. Alex & Pete McLean serendipitously encountered it whilst searching for a new source of Viognier. As Alex spent several vintages working in Spain (including 2017 at Descendientes de J. Palacios) it was a bit of a thrill, especially given that the first plantings at Quartz Hill are from 2013, some of the earliest of Mencía in Australia.

WINEMAKING

90% destemmed (whole berry) with 10% whole bunch on top. Wild ferment with pre- and post-ferment soak and a total of 4 weeks on skins. Gentle pump overs for the most part with a few light plunges at the tail end.

Pressed to tank than racked to barrel (mostly old oak with 30% 2nd use) for MLF. Matured for 7 months in barrel then blended to tank to settle.

Bottled unfined and unfiltered on January 10 2024.

Courtesy: Brothers McLean.