Classic Vermentino minerality and texture is complemented by balanced acidity leading to an elongated finish.

Mitolo Wines is a family owned business founded in 1999 by Frank and Simone Mitolo. With his Italian heritage and three generations of his family working as agriculturists, Frank set out to create wines of individuality, integrity and quality. Fruit is sourced from sustainably farmed vineyards located in McLaren Vale and the Barossa Valley. The Willunga district vineyards, planted on heavy grey loam soil over sandstone, intermixed with black Biscay clay, are located on the southern tip of the McLaren Vale and the Greencock vineyard located in northern part of the Barossa Valley is planted on free draining loam over limestone. The focus is on Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. Other varieties include Sangiovese and Vermentino. Winemaker Ben Glaetzer was born in Adelaide and began his career working as a cellar hand at Barossa Valley Estate and then as winemaker at Tyrrell’s. In 2001 Ben became a partner and since then Mitolo has gone from strength to strength.

Technical notes

The Vermentino vineyard is located at the southern end of McLaren Vale. The fruit is destemmed, gently crushed and an inoculated with Alsatian yeast after which the wine is stabilized and filtered before bottling.

Producer

With a background in horticulture (as owner of one of the largest potato and onion producers in the Southern Hemisphere) and a keen interest in wine and winemaking, Frank Mitolo set out to create his own winery. He toyed with small-scale winemaking for six years before deciding to produce commercially and in 2000 formed Mitolo Wines. Frank teamed with his friend, Ben Glaetzer (who makes wines under the well regarded Glaetzer Wines label), with the implicit goal of creating the very best interpretation of McLaren Vale and Barossa Valley Shiraz. Together, they agreed on an approach that relies on using the very best fruit, non-interventionist wine making and super fine oak. This collaboration resulted in Mitolo's first wine, 2000 GAM McLaren Vale Shiraz. This wine received 91 points in the Wine Spectator in its first year of release. In 2001 the Mitolo portfolio was expanded to three McLaren Vale wines, Jester, GAM and Savitar and one Barossa Valley wine, Reiver. In 2002, Frank and Ben decided to push the boundaries by producing an amarone style Cabernet called Serpico.