Producer: Mulline | Region: Geelong | Grape: Pinot Noir
About the Wine
A more in depth pinot, helping it stand out above the rest, the Mulline Portarlington 2024 Pinot Noir is the perfect autumn wine. Hand harvesting their grapes, Ben Mullen and his team make sure nothing short of the best goes into each bottle. This way of winemaking well and truly shows when you’re drinking each of their wines.
Looking deeper into the ’24 Portarlington pinot Noir, it is well a truly a character. As you go glass by glass, the bottle completely changes its taste, texture and aromatics.
Initially, being a relatively young wine, everything seems sharp. With a harsher nose, giving you those crushed rock and savoury notes. The taste initially going for a sour rhubarb, cherry, spritzy pinot with a strong savoury finish, offering that false sense of security.
Once it has had a chance to relax, to breathe, to meditate, it calms right down into a completely different wine.
Deeper berries, paired with floral overripe cherries for the aromatics. Cured meats, cracked pepper, and a strong savoury mushroom finish for the taste. A more structured palate gives you a perfect wine for that weird cold snap in early autumn.
The snap that reminds us to start getting our bigger comfort dinners out again. Dishes that call for a beautiful relaxed wine, to compliment our favourite indulgent winter-ready dishes.
Sourced from the Nurringa Park Vineyard in Port Arlington, just inland from Mulline's Chardonnay block but still under strong maritime influence. Planted in 1994 to MV6 clone, this site features sandy loam, dark clay and limestone soils.
This is the first release under Mulline's full vineyard management. Fruit was handpicked and fermented in parcels with varying whole bunch inclusion. Wild yeast fermentation took place in open vats with. twice-daily punch downs and 8-10 days on skins, before pressing to oak for natural malolactic fermentation. The final blend includes 30% whole bunch and was matured in French oak, 30% of which was new.
Review
"A single vineyard located right on the water in Port Arlington. All 98- planted MV6 clones; 30% whole bunches, 25% new oak. A deep, ruby red. Concentrated with dark fruits, earth, licorice root and a little iodine. Similarly rich on the flavoursome, still closed, but even and well-structured palate that finishes with a burst of robust, meaty tannins. It'll need some time, but rest assured, your patience will be rewarded."
96 points, Halliday Wine Companion
About Mulline
Mulline Vintners is a collaboration between 2 Bens focused on producing premium wines from the Geelong Region, Victoria, Australia. Collectively, Ben Mullen + Ben Hine are Mulline Vintners. Ben Mullen is the Winemaker at Mulline Vintners.
Ben Mullen is a qualified winemaker and viticulturist. Ben grew up just east of the Barossa Valley region in South Australia. After graduating from secondary school, Ben enrolled in business and marketing at Uni. Concurrently, Ben began working in the wine industry at cellar doors in the Barossa. He promptly decided that wine was much more fun than marketing and enrolled in a Bachelor of Viticulture and Oenology at Adelaide University.
Since then, Ben has had a whirlwind career which has seen him making wine all over the globe. Of note, Ben has worked at Torbreck (Barossa Valley, South Australia), Yarra Yering (Yarra Valley, Victoria), Oakridge (Yarra Valley, Victoria), Domaine Dujac (Burgundy, France), Craggy Range (Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand) and Clyde Park (Bannockburn, Geelong, Victoria).
With this stellar background, it was a matter of time before Ben Mullen decided to spread his wings and make wine under his own label.
Snapshot
Region: Portarlington, Bellarine Peninsula, Victoria
Country: Australia
Vintage: 2024
Size: 750ml
ABV: 12%
Closure: Screwcap
Varieties: Pinot Noir
