Mitchell Clare Valley - Friends Forever, by Tony Harper

It’s never too late to renew one’s acquaintance with a forgotten friend.

How easy is it to forget old friends. Let’s blame our busy lives, the pressures of work and the pace at which we all seem to move. I’m ashamed to say that I am renowned for it. It was no surprise then, to discover that I had forgotten Mitchell Wines.

For many years, Mitchell’s Riesling and cabernet sauvignon made up the backbone of my cellar. Neither wine was ever expensive, yet both were terrific any time from release until a decade or so later. Sadly, I haven’t bought them for a few years and these days I’d be scratching to find more than two or three bottles tucked away. That’s a case of forgotten friends.

Last weekend, we became re-acquainted, and (unlike many of my old friends) they are looking better than ever. I’m not sure if there is a collection of Australian wines that gives you more for your money. The whole Mitchell collection is seriously good.

The jewels however, are the Rieslings. The standard stuff has been coming out of Mithcell winery for the past 35 years and it has always tussled with one or two others for the top spot in the Clare Riesling hierarchy. It comes off a vineyard at Watervale, a few kilometers south of the winery, and it is classic floral and lime when young, turning to toast and lemon butter when old. Tasting the current 2010 and re-released 2004 is an exercise in Clare classicism and it seems out of kilter that both can be purchased for less than $13 a bottle.

But both are blown to smithereens by the 2005 Mitchell McNicol Riesling.

McNicol comes from a 2ha dry-grown vineyard that the Mitchell family planted in 1995 (to shiraz and Riesling). In Clare Valley terms, it’s unusually high elevation (480m) and sits on a quartz site ridge, so to quote Andrew Mitchell – it expresses itself in quite a different way from the other Mitchell vineyard.

The McNicol Riesling is simply awesome, so much so that I struggle to think of another that comes close in terms of succulence and lime. At six years old, it has signs of patina, but is still ultra-fresh and almost plump with lush fruit. But it has impeccable balance – that fruit is restrained by a terrific line of acidity, and the patina is merely a dusting of complexity on a essence that should see the wine travel well for another decade of two. The McNicol Riesling sells for about $50.

The McNicol vineyard also produces a Shiraz that Andrew and Jane Mitchell keep aside until it is mature. Once again, it is a different beast from the Shiraz under the standard Mitchell label (Peppertree). In the case of the 2002 McNicol Shiraz, it has the advantage of a decade in the bottle, yet its aged characters are subtle and refined. This is still a young wine. In terms of South Australian shiraz, it is relatively restrained and seems to rely more on the texture and complexity than weight and power, which is a good thing.

The McNicol pair shines bright in a portfolio of terrific wines and in the region blessed with many stars. It must be a very special vineyard indeed.

As for the rest of the Mitchell Clare Valley wines (and I’ve only touched upon a portion of the range here) they are extremely good and must rank among the most under priced wines in the country. I’m very pleased to have renewed our old friendship.

Tony Harper, Brisbane News, 6th April 2011