2016 Izway Wines Mates Aglianico Mataro

The 2016 Mates is a blend of Aglianico and Mataro. The Mataro for our ‘Mates’ comes from two vineyards owned and cared for by the famous Adrian Hoffmann in Ebenezer. The ‘Sand Block’ and ‘David’s Block’ were planted in 1999 & 2000 respectively from old vine select cuttings. The Aglianico is planted on a rocky east facing hillside in the sub region of Koonunga. The 2016 Mates is fresh, vibrant and pure with a savoury edge from the addition of Aglianico, which works seamlessly with its new best mate Mataro. The tannin structure makes this vintage different from its predecessors and makes the 2016 Mates both fun and serious.

Although the 2016 Vintage will be considered one of the great harvests of the last 20 years, the growing conditions were anything but conventional. The total rainfall for the year was half the average but the timing was perfect. The summer was warm but not hot and there were no extended heat waves. These conditions resulted in exceptional fruit created in shrewd and almost sagacious weather, where the season seemed dialed in to the specifics of each vineyard. The wines created are equally intelligent and authoritative, with purity of fruit combining with incredible tannin structure. Layered and complex, these wines will age for many years and will cement the Barossa Valley as one of the worlds iconic wine regions