This pack contains 2 x bottles of the Amphora 'Grillo'

 Alright, This is a brand new cuveé for Momento Mori and one I’m pretty excited about ! 

I first heard about a grower in Central Victoria having planted the Sicilian variety ‘Grillo’, 

(Aka Rossese Bianco) about 6 years ago. I had been hounding that particular grower about the possibility of sourcing some ever since. In 2022 We finally got the chance to work with a small amount of it. 

The fruit is dry-grown on a vineyard just south of Mildura on a red sandy loam. 

This area is hot so disease pressure is very low which means any copper/ Sulphur sprays can be kept to a bare minimum. Growing varieties like this in Australia has always made a lot of sense to me. They are tolerant of very hot conditions and require very little water relative to most European varieties that are grown here. Very well suited to the Australian climate. The vines are only 9 years old but are thriving in their environment and already producing some incredible fruit. 

The fruit was hand picked in the early morning to retain some coolness and then transported to the winery immediately. The fruit underwent a whole bunch, semi-carbonic fermentation for 16 days without any crushing or maceration. 

The aim was to keep the wine elegant and fresh without extracting to much tannin or phenolics. 

The ageing in Amphora always gives an element of texture too so I was mindful of not creating too much during fermentation. It was then pressed (relatively lightly) directly into 2 x clay Amphora and 1 x Ceramic Egg where the wine spent 9 months on full lees. It was then racked once to blend the 3 vessels and bottled by gravity with 15ppm so2. 

I have been showing this wine recently at some public tastings and it has always been a standout regardless of most people being un-familiar with the variety. 

The general feel of the wine is bright and fresh with some real phenolic complexity. 

A very floral, citrus nose with an incredible mineral salinity on the palate. 

I feel like the learning process over the last 10 years (with skin contact especially) is starting to pay dividends and it’s wines like this one that really reflect that. It has great structure, with a strong element of refinement from the fermentation technique and the time in Amphora.