Mitolo G.A.M. Shiraz - Parker 95 points!

I just found 3 cases of a rare wine at one of the distributors!

Mitolo Shiraz G.A.M. 2005 (Australia) $49.99

Each December, a handful (a few cases of each) of these excellent and rare Mitolo wines arrive in Maine - the wines are:

• Mitolo G.A.M.
• Mitolo Savitar
• Mitolo Serpico

Looking through the distributors inventory, I noticed the Mitolo G.A.M. was still available.

Lo' and behold, it arrived after December and no one at the distributor sold much of it. Four cases came into Maine. When it is gone, we'll have to wait for the 2006 vintage to arrive late this year.

This is a classic McLaren Vale single vineyard Shiraz.

Deep, dark color (dark purple). Aromas of dark berries (especially blueberries and blackberries), dark cherries, black plums, toast, anise (licorice), pepper and subtle oak.

It's rich and full-bodied, with both elegance and boldness! Flavors of dark cherries, blackberries, blueberries, baking spices, Provencal herbs and mocha. Nice tannic and acidic structure to it. This wine has layers and layers of complexity.

Family-owned and operated winery. Frank Mitolo founded the winery. This Italian-Australian has named this wine after his kids - G.A.M. = Gemma, Alexanber and Franco. "Honor nostrorum liverorum pulchrorum." "In honor of our lineage."

World-famous and respected Ben Glaetzer joined Mitolo as the winemaker in 2001, adding his legendary winemaking skills to Frank Mitolo's vineyard skills.

The grapes come from the Chinese Block vineyard in the Willunga District at the Southern End of the McLaren Vale.

All aging of the wine happens in hand-picked, fine grain French oak barrels. 70% of the wine is aged in new oak barrels in a combination of 80% French and 20% French coopered (the French cut the oak trees along a different grain than the Americans) American oak. 30% is aged in a combination of 1-2 year-old French and American oak (oak loses 80% of its chemical compounds the first time it is used). All of it is aged for 16 months in oak and then blended.

This should age well for up to 8-10 years. It's drinking well now.

Food pairing - Drinks BEAUTIFULLY without food! This also has plenty of "oomph" to stand up to a steak, beef, lamb, etc.

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate, 95 Points

Robert Parker calls this a "Tour de Force of winemaking!"