MASTORIES09
Tell us a little about yourself and the story behind Mammoth Wines.
Mammoth was born in 2013 and really came about after working for other people's brands and labels for 15 years and realising that I was kind of contributing to someone else's legacy. The reality for most winemakers is that we are employees of a business owner or company and must, to some extent, 'toe the line'. I have always joked that the thing they don't teach you at Uni when studying wine science is how to get your own way and not get fired...it usually takes a couple of jobs to work that one out! Anyway, Mammoth was born in 2013 not so much to be a viable business but to be an outlet for my own expressions and beliefs regarding wine. It is always about doing what I believe in and what I think is right, from the fruit, the winemaking and through to the pricing. The quantities are tiny, but the philosophy is large!
Which Mihan Aromatics scent speaks to you most and why?
I have a number of Mihan Aromatic fragrances in my collection. It is hard to decide which one speaks loudest to me as they all have something lovely to say. If I am forced to choose, I would have to say that the Munlark Ash gets worn a lot through the Winter months. I seem to gravitate towards 'wood' scents through Winter and I think that getting a wood scent right is incredibly difficult. Although Munlark Ash has some beautiful wood characters it is also very refined and elegant...I am also a sucker for vetiver. Taming the masculinity of wood into a refined and elegant unisex fragrance is certainly art.
Can you share a scent memory that’s stayed with you from childhood, travel, or winemaking?
There are many memories related to scent. I think one of the most vivid was when I was working vintage at Dr.Loosen in the Mosel valley of Germany. I was driving the short distance from the winery in Kues back to Wehlen at about midnight and in through the car window wafted the smell of fermenting Riesling juice. I had to pull over and get out of the car and sure enough the whole village was blanketed by aromatic ferment aromas. Wonderful!
How do you think aroma shapes the emotional experience of wine?
Without a doubt, aroma has the ability to connect us with a distant memory or even a feeling. I grew up tasting wine with my late father who had a PhD in pure mathematics before giving up his career in the Department of Defence and becoming a winemaker. His first love was Cabernet Sauvignon, and we spent many evenings tasting and philosophising over particular wines. Quite recently I was given a bottle of Hawkes Bay Cabernet Merlot. I was not expecting great things from the wine and kind of put-off drinking it. One night my wife cooked lamb for dinner, and I decided to open the wine in question. As soon as I put it to my nose I was flooded with memories and reminiscences of tasting with my father who had died 5 years before. I was quite overcome with emotion and a strange reflective joy. No wine notes were taken on this night; I just bathed in memory.
How do you assess and describe the aromatic profile of a wine, from first swirl to final sip?
Surprisingly, for such an ill-disciplined creature like me, I am quite disciplined when it comes to taking wine notes both during the wine maturation process and also with wines that I purchase or swap. During the time that a wine is maturing in barrel I like to wander around the barrel room alone and taste and write down any thoughts or ideas that come to mind. I will refer back to my notes constantly and it will inform my future ideas. Likewise, when I am tasting a wine that I have purchased I will write down notes relating to what the wine looks, smells and tastes like. I have notebooks full of wines going back to my Uni days 35 years ago! Keeping notes is great for solidifying your impressions of a wine in your mind and also for checking that your palate is consistent. It is also interesting to observe through your notes how a particular wine might be maturing and changing with time.
How do different varietals contribute to the scent structure of a wine?
Different varietals contribute very differently to the scent structure of a wine. Some varietals like Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc contribute their varietal characters very strongly to the point where you can taste the final wine in the fruit. Other varieties such as Riesling and Gewurztraminer are categorised as 'aromatic' and are full of lovely, lifted descriptors. The variety that is most enigmatic when it comes to scent is undoubtedly Pinot Noir which has the uncanny ability to showcase both the site and the season...perhaps even the soul of the winemaker.
What kinds of wines are you creating at Mammoth right now?
Mammoth will always be about expression and authenticity. I am not necessarily focused on any variety or region, what I am interested in is fruit that is grown organically and without irrigation, wherever and whatever it is. With this fruit I can then make something that I think best showcases the site and the season without following trends or fashions. Mammoth wines will always be unique and expressive.
Why the name Mammoth?
Why the name Mammoth? I get asked this a lot and the answer is that I have always loved mammoths. I love the creatures; I love the word and I kind of think that the mammoth conjures up something ancient and gone but not too far gone. I feel in a way that it has some kind of synergy with me…trying to make something intimate and special first and worrying about the money side of it second is like being a mammoth…glorious, fantastic, noble and surreal but constantly hunted by climate and man so undoubtedly doomed to extinction.
Which bottles would you recommend starting with?
I make my Pinot Noir using 100% whole bunches (the entire bunch including the stalk goes into the ferment vat) which can be quite polarising. Some people really get it, and some people just don't. I would say that whole bunches lend themselves to a more 'restrained and cerebral' style rather than 'hedonistic' or opulent. My Chardonnay is probably a lot easier to get to grips with. It is still quite extreme in that it spends 3 years in barrel on gross ferment lees, but this time builds texture, richness and integration. It is firmly in the bloody yummy style!
Thank you, Michael, for your wisdom, your warmth, and for letting us tell your MASTORIES09.
Explore Michael's Wines here
