Mayford Tempranillo Alpine Valleys 2022

It was over 10 years ago I first tried Mayford Tempranillo. It was at an event called TempraNeo and was celebrating Tempranillo in Australia. Mayford Tempranillo, and a few others that day, opened my eyes to the potential in Australia; up to that point, I thought the wines were non-descript. The 2022 release of Mayford Tempranillo lives up to my fond recollections. It shows plums, raisens, pepper and raw meat. It has a red-winey quality that Tempranillo can show and is alluring and beguiling the more you smell it. The palate of Mayford Tempranillo is typically plush, with fine tannins. It is High above the Ovens River, overlooking the sleepy township of Porepunkah, the family-owned Mayford Vineyard lies tucked away from view. The Mayford Vineyard was established with a modest planting of Shiraz in 1995, which was enlarged in 1998.  Tempranillo and Chardonnay followed in 2002. Hand-picking and small-batch winemaking are utilised to create complexity off the small vineyard. There is a preference to let the naturally occurring yeasts dictate the timing and expression of the fermentation process. The reds are worked in small open fermenters and basket pressed before going to oak, where natural malolactic fermentation is encouraged.  Fining and filtration are kept to a minimum. Mayford Tempranillo Alpine Valleys 2022 Wine Notes Campbell Mattinson The Wine Front June 2024 95 points "The framework here is substantial. So too the flesh. This is a wine of meat, bones, stuffing and gravy. It tastes of scorched black cherries, chicory, woodsmoke and cedar, though sweet spice and kirsch notes get guernseys too. The flavour here may be bold, and polished, but folded within it are arms of muscular tannin, and these guide the wine to somewhere grander. It’s a wave, this wine. It lifts and it carries. It’s a release of note. Rated : 95 Points Tasted : Jun24 Alcohol : 13.9% Price : $44 Closure : Screwcap Drink : 2026 – 2033+"