the mind palace Sangiovese 2022  McLaren Vale, Sangiovese (100%)  The Name  Perched on the steep hill above one of the  oldest Sangiovese vineyards in the region  is an prominent old ironstone palace,  overlooking all of McLaren Vale. Perhaps,  witnessing and safely harbouring the tales of  a bygone era for the generations to come.  The Vintage  It has been a good winter, the early Spring  rains set the vines up very well. November  was about 3 degrees colder than average and  so the set was variable, especially Mourvèdre   which suffered the worst. Luckily, many  varieties still had quite a large potential  crop, so yields ended about 15% down from  2021 (which was a big crop year). December  was bone dry, but January saw 33mm  compared to 20mm average. This too set the  vines up very well. There was almost no rain  and very mild conditions in February, March  and April, free of hot or cold spells which  resulted in very good leaf retention and  ripening. All varieties resulted in  outstanding wines. At this stage, It is early to  call the vintage but I believe the reds from  this vintage are the best I have seen in years.  They show great colour fruit, fruit fragrance,  richness, acidity, tannins and style. The Red  skins were very thick and crunchy and no  shrivel was seen, resulting in high tannin  content, causing us to pull juice off the skins  sweeter than usual, to achieve the desired  results.  Harvest dates  Residual sugar  1 - 3 Mar  0.8 g/l  The Winemaking  Small batches of grapes are gently crushed  and then transferred to open fermenters.  Foot treading is undertaken two thirds of  the way through fermentation, the wine is  basket pressed and transferred to old French  oak to complete fermentation and mature  for 8 months.  The Characteristics  The 2022 Mind Palace Sangiovese is  pleasantly medium bodied but impressively  fruit driven. Intriguing the way both red  berry fruits and dry herbal notes work  together in this wine. The palate comes  across slightly darker than the nose, perhaps  influenced by the fine but pithy tannins  that really persist and compliment the fruit  length. The sweeter aromas and flavours  continue to build in the glass, verging on  strawberries and cream, so don’t be afraid  to give it a little swirl. A lively, flavoursome  red wine that’s light on its feet and perfectly  suited to our maritime climate.