This is the fifth vintage of ‘The Mark of Cain’, the high-toned, effusive Pinot Meunier named after a punk band whom Taras had played as an opener for. ‘The Mark of Cain’ could be described as simple, but energetic, vocals layered atop a lurching and chaotic rhythm section…that aptly defines this wine. This is one of the oldest Pinot Meunier vineyards in the Adelaide Hills, planted in the Piccadilly Valley in 1985. The dry-farmed vines really provide a great deal of intensity for the delicate aromas and tones. Being another La Niña year, 2022 was similar to 2021. It was cool and mild, with no big heatwaves, and long slow ripening. This makes for perfumed, light bodied wines with great natural acid.
The fruit was hand-picked in early-March and the vast majority of the fruit was destemmed with only 10% being kept intact. The lots were placed into two one-ton open top fermenters with a few handfuls of stalks and fermentation kicked off almost immediately. The cap was gently submersed for a little more than a week before being basket pressed to old French barriques for aging. After five months the wine was bottled without fining or filtration and just a small 51 ppm sulfur addition.