PRE RELEASE: 2024 Singlefile Small Batch Mencia

Often described as the “Spanish pinot noir”, mencía originated in Portugal but found its true home in the north-west of Spain, where the majority of plantings are now found. Though a relative newcomer to Australia, first planted in McLaren Vale in 2011, small parcels have flourished in select sites, particularly across South Australia as well as a tiny planting in the Great Southern.

Mencía thrives in climates with warm days and cool nights, conditions that foster an elegant balance of vibrant aromatics, bright acidity, and flavour intensity. The fruit for this wine, from Franklands vineyard, enjoyed precisely these conditions. The site’s ironstone gravel soils lend a distinctive mineral edge — an expression of terroir which this variety is especially suited to.

Fruit was selectively harvested on 5 March 2024 to capture optimal freshness and flavour. A combination of whole-berry and partial whole-bunch fermentation brought aromatic lift and gentle tannin complexity. Extraction was carefully restrained to maintain purity, with minimal pump-overs and no heavy punchdowns. The wine was matured in older (one, two and three year old) barrels to add a smoothness without masking the variety’s natural floral brightness. The wine was bottled in February 2025, and has since rested in bottle to allow for full expression of the wine’s elements.