Small Batch Mourvedre
⏳ Drinking Window
2024 - 2032
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Roasted lamb shanks, grilled venison, rich mushroom stew
✨ Technical Specifications
Kilikanoon's Small Batch Mourvèdre is a dedicated tribute to a grape variety that has long been a quiet cornerstone of South Australia's viticultural history. Often relegated to blending duties under its local synonym, Mataro, Mourvèdre takes center stage in this limited-release bottling. Sourced from low-yielding vineyards in the Clare Valley, the fruit benefits from the region's warm daytime temperatures and cooling afternoon breezes, allowing this late-ripening grape to develop intense flavor complexity while retaining essential acidity. The wine is crafted using traditional, hands-on techniques, including fermentation in open-top vessels and gentle basket pressing, followed by maturation in seasoned French oak hogsheads. This minimal-intervention approach coaxes out the grape's signature rustic charm, dark fruit profile, and savory undertones, celebrating the rugged elegance of Clare Valley terroir.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 1997 by winemaker Kevin Mitchell alongside his viticulturist father Mort Mitchell, Kilikanoon has evolved into one of the Clare Valley’s definitive benchmark estates. Headquartered at an 1860s stone farmhouse in Penwortham, the estate commands access to premier vineyard parcels spanning diverse subregions, including Watervale, Leasingham, and Auburn. Altitudes range from 220 to over 600 meters above sea level, engendering dramatic diurnal shifts that preserve vital acidity and balance the Mediterranean sun. Kilikanoon champions sustainable farming across varied terroirs characterized by red terra rossa over limestone and slate-rich soils, most famously showcased in the ungrafted, dry-grown 1865 Attunga parcel. In the cellar, the winemaking philosophy pairs traditional fermentation techniques with precise maturation in French oak and unadorned vinification for aromatic whites. Revered for power paired with structural elegance, the estate's benchmark bottlings include the storied Attunga 1865 Shiraz, Oracle Shiraz, and the piercing, mineral-driven Mort's Reserve Watervale Riesling.
🍇 Grapes
Mourvèdre
🍷 ABV
14.5%