Producer Mulline Vintners is a collaboration between Ben Mullen, a qualified viticulturist and winemaker, and Ben Hine, a lawyer and the business mind behind the project. Together, the two Bens set out to produce high-quality wines made with fruit grown throughout the surrounding Geelong region, Moorabool Valley, Surf Coast, and Bellarine Peninsula. They purchase fruit from like-minded growers and have their own home vineyard and winery in Portarlington.A breath of fresh air for the Geelong region, Mulline is a young, passionate, forward-thinking collaboration injecting new life and energy into the Geelong wine scene and collecting a lot of critical praise along the way. Tasting Note There are aromas of white nectarine, lime zest, wet stone and subtle lanolin. The palate is open and gently creamy, with a savoury edge and fine acid line that brings clarity and length. Flavours of citrus oil, cashew and oyster shell roll through the mid-palate, finishing with a gentle grip and saline freshness. The fruit for this wine comes from the Nurringa Park Vineyard on Portarlington Road, just outside the township of Portarlington on the Bellarine Peninsula. Planted in 1994 to the I10V1 clone of Chardonnay, the vineyard sits on sandy loam soils with darker clay over ironstone, contributing both richness and a distinctive mineral character. The wine was wild fermented with full solids and matured for eight months in French oak, 20% of which was new. It sits at 13% alcohol. 97 points! Philip Rich, Halliday Wine CompanionFrom a vineyard on the water in Portarlington planted in '94. 20% new French barriques; 15% mlf. Mulline took full control of the vineyard in '23, and it now shows in what's the best Port Arlington Chardonnay I've tasted. Aromas of perfectly ripened stone fruits, orange blossom and a touch of sea spray precede the chalky, nicely concentrated and very well-balanced palate. A delight to consume now and over the next three to five years plus.
