Mandala Wine Brands

THE FACTS

Location: Bangalore
State: Karnataka
Founded: 1996
Major shareholders: Ramesh Rao
Total area: no own vineyard
Area under vine: n/a
Production: 36,000 litres
Google map: n/a

THE STORY

Mandala Wine Brands is the corporate umbrella for three labels: a selection of entry-level wines under the name Jouvin; a mid-market range, Mandala; and the Grand Reserve. The different varieties in each range add up to a total of ten products, all made from custom-crushed fruit in the states of Karnataka and Maharashtra.

 

The late managing director Ramesh Rao ran both the wine company and Scion, his main business, a Bangalore-based brand-consulting agency, from a three-storey villa located in a leafy neighbourhood of the state capital. It was with great sadness that I learnt of his fatal air accident in May 2015.

 

Quietly observant, Rao’s attention to his business was relentless. He epitomised the wine-loving branding professional who could spot an opportunity to create smartly positioned labels for the enjoyment of specific consumer groups. Mandala Wine Brands does not hold land, machinery or tanks, which gives it the flexibility to supply its brands in the quantities required by the market. The wines are made in three locations: Blackbuck Vineyards’ winery, 120 kilometres north of Bangalore; Oakwood Winery in Shrirampur; and York Winery in Nashik. The latter two are in the state of Maharashtra.

 

The choice of name was brilliant as ‘mandala’ resonates equally with Indian and foreign wine consumers. The spiritual and ritual symbol of the universe in Buddhism and Hinduism, mandala is depicted chiefly as a circle, aptly symbolising the cyclical nature of life. The purity of the circle represents a place of peace, or nirvana, separated from the impurities that lie outside. By now one hopes those swirling circles of wine in your glass, imbibed in the company of friends, are giving you that much desired spiritual tranquillity.

 

Rao described his working style as ‘collaborative’, and it certainly took extensive collaboration and cooperation to orchestrate three wineries and two international consultants – Dr Pascal Chatonet and David Siri, both from France – in addition to sales teams in India and the UK. Dr Uday Kumar is the face of the brand in Europe. Over 20 restaurants stock the wines in England, business development efforts in France and Belgium are underway, and Japanese consumers can also savour Mandala wines.

 

Now it would be wonderful to see the younger vintages of these early-drinking wines on the market sooner .


THE WINES

It required the skill of a brand professional to conceptualise a range of three distinct levels of experience, each on its own. There is no plan to force the consumer trade up. The brands simply do what they say on the label.

 

The Jouvin wines are bright and fruity with a large amount of ripeness and mouth-warming alcohol, easy to enjoy without any distraction of complexity. Good basic wines for bars, clubs, barbeques and parties.

 

The Mandala range is a step up with more complexity and expression of varietal flavours. There is a touch of oak on the red wines. Definitely better concentration and length overall, but it remains a straightforward, decent-drinking wine range.

 

I tasted two vintages of the Grand Reserve, 2010 and 2012. The generous use of barrel ageing is easily detected in both, but as far as fruit quality is concerned, the 2010 showed little difference from the Mandala reds, so it was encouraging that the 2012 was riper, denser and weightier, balancing a more serious structure.


THE LABELS

Jouvin: especially made and marketed for only India; ripe fruits, easy, dry wines

  • Viognier
  • Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Shiraz
  • Shiraz rosé

 

Mandala: mid-market wines; an emphasis on varietal expression with a hint of complexity

  • Sauvignon Blanc
  • Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Selection Reserve
  • Shiraz
  • Shiraz Private Collection

 

Grand Reserve Oakwood Cellars: almost on par with the Mandala range but for the added barrel ageing

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