Vintus

In a short period of time Mitolo has become recognized as one of the finest producers in McLaren Vale and the Barossa Valley.  Mitolo produces individual handcrafted, premium wines built on passion and uncompromising commitment to quality.  Frank and Simone Mitolo founded the company in 1999, drawing inspiration from Frank’s Italian heritage and horticultural background and, especially, their children Gemma, Alexander and Marco (hence their G.A.M. wine). In 2001 winemaker Ben Glaetzer became a partner in the business, and since then Mitolo has gone from strength to strength, receiving stunning accolades that have confirmed the partnership and its vision.

The Mitolo winemaking philosophy is to deliver wines that express purity of varietal flavor, show elegance of structure with soft tannins while being rich, powerful and complex.  The wines are handcrafted to ensure the individual nuances of the vineyard and variety is maintained.  Only the best quality fruit is selected and aged in fine grained oak, to make elegant wines of intense richness and complexity.  Soft tannins ensure that the wines can be enjoyed at any age.

The grapes for Mitolo come from the Willunga district of McLaren Vale and Greenrock in the Barossa Valley.  The McLaren Vale vineyards are situated in the most southern tip of the region, overlooking the coast.  The vineyard soil types are heavy grey loam over sandstone soils, with black cracking Biscay clays intermixed.  These soils have excellent water-holding capacity and require minimal irrigation.  Being so close to the coast the vines experience warm summer days that contribute to fruit intensity and excellent tannin ripeness, and cooling afternoon sea breezes and nights maintain good acid levels in the grapes, allowing extended maturation on the vine and resulting in complexity of the flavor profile.

Greenock lies approximately 15km to the northwest of the geographical heart of the Barossa Valley.  The Mitolo vineyards from which Reiver Shiraz is made, sit at approximately 440 meters above sea level, and have a north/south orientation, meaning the canopy captures maximum sunlight throughout the day and is cooled by the southerly valley winds during the afternoon.  This orientation also reduces the risk of canopy damage during days of intense heat and hot northerly winds.