Congratulations to Mount Mary, the newly crowned Winery of the Year in the annual Halliday Wine Companion Awards!
Mount Mary is a landmark estate not just of the Yarra Valley but of Australian wine history. In 1971 Dr John Middleton homed in on a site that could grow great wine, and identified a style that suited that site – and that people loved to drink, collect and share. The Middleton family has steadfastly stuck to its regimen of individuality and unimpeachable quality through decades of purposeful, visionary hard work. It’s not right to say the reputation has endured; it has advanced.
This isn’t an estate of the past – it’s one of the here and now, and of the future.
CellarHand has been privileged to work with Mount Mary since the turn of the millennium, and it has been a pleasure to observe its progress. We’re delighted to invite you to celebrate this magnificent family domain with a range of museum-release wines.
OFFER PACKS – PERFECT PROVENANCE
These dozen packs – one red and one white – are a chance to taste across the years from the Mount Mary collection. All these wines have perfect provenance, having been stored until now in the winery’s underground cellars.
WHITE MINI-VERTICAL DOZEN PACK RRP $1400
Includes two bottles each of:
- 2013 Triolet
- 2012 Triolet
- 2011 Triolet
- 2013 Chardonnay
- 2012 Chardonnay
- 2011 Chardonnay
QUINTET MINI-VERTICAL DOZEN PACK RRP $1900
Includes three bottles each of
- 2014 Quintet
- 2013 Quintet
- 2011 Quintet
- 2010 Quintet
THE WINES
Mount Mary White Pack
2013 Mount Mary Triolet
Vertical tastings suggest this blend (75/13/12% sauvignon blanc, semillon, muscadelle) can outlive the Chardonnay, and that it needs more time to fully come out, as it were. There is a bracing zesty, almost crackling, array of flavours on the long palate, and it certainly invites the second, and the third, glass; the barrel ferment oak is easily swallowed up by the fruit. 95 points. James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion
2012 Mount Mary Triolet
A blend of sauvignon blanc, semillon and muscadelle, barrel-fermented in used French oak, and likewise matured in used oak. Shines brightly in the context of the vintage, with vibrant lemony fruit, crisp acidity and a long, cleansing and satisfying finish. Will become more complex with age in bottle, but that can be bypassed without committing vinous sacrilege. 96 points. James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion
2011 Mount Mary Triolet
Pale straw-green; a wine built on structure and flavour, and with elegance, not power; there are dried grass, herb and talc flavours, the oak not contributing flavour, just texture. It has always been a wine that gets slammed in blind tastings when young, and sometimes when old, but when things go right, it’s a great example of the genre. 94 points. James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion
2013 Mount Mary Chardonnay
Has the power and intensity that positively ancient vines (in Yarra Valley terms) and a sacred site makes almost inevitable, the vintage also chipping in. The special quality of Yarra Valley chardonnay is length, on display here in all its glory, the fruit flavours precisely aligned between citrus and stone fruit, the oak ex barrel fermentation and maturation now part of the fabric of the wine. 97 points. James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion
2012 Mount Mary Chardonnay
Pale, brilliant quartz-green; the bouquet and palate reveal a wine of ultimate refinement, with laser-like clarity and precision of its flavours; while barrel-fermented, it is the fruit that drives the very long palate; the flavours span white- fleshed stone fruits, a touch of cashew, finishing with grapefruity acidity. 13.5% alc; Diam. 96 points. James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion
2011 Mount Mary Chardonnay
Gleaming yellow-green; a skilfully made wine from mature vines on a great vineyard site; white peach, melon and a touch of fig coalesce with subtle barrel ferment oak on the long and harmonious palate. 96 points. James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion
Mount Mary Quintet Pack
2014 Mount Mary Quintet
While there wasn’t a lot of wine made in the Yarra Valley in ‘14 (wind and rain during flowering), some wine of very high quality was made – witness this. Mount Mary has shown over the decades that Quintet develops superbly, and this complex dark berry-flavoured Bordeaux blend will do just that. 97 points. James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion 2017
2013 Mount Mary Quintet
Bright, clear colour; the fruit-filled, fragrant bouquet is followed by a classic Mount Mary palate: medium-bodied, and with a certain transparency akin to an orchestra with different instruments, the very essence thereof; near the flute are red fruits, the violin the black fruits, the bassoon tannins – all very different, but all in harmony, the sum of the parts greater than the whole. 96 points. James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion
2011 Mount Mary Quintet
The hue is bright, although not deep – indeed crystal clear; the scented, perfumed red berry bouquet leads into a juicy palate with no green notes, just a touch of mint; it is long and evenly balanced, and will provide much pleasure over the next five or so years, thereafter is in the lap of the gods. 94 points. James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion
2010 Mount Mary Quintet
Whoowee, dig this perfume. Really complex aroma spectrum – immediately engaging too. Cassis, dark fruits, touch of briar herbal lift, flash of mint, chocolatey and stubbed out cigar embers. At once cool and rich. Slender ribbons of fruit, acid and fine bony tannin across the palate. Has that succulent but strict feel, like sucking on a hard lolly as it diminishes. Beautiful, medium-bodied feel too – the wine finishes long and pure, eddying with the linger of tannin and powdered slate-like minerality. It’s in that zone of refreshment and elegance, where a repeat visit to the glass is effortless but there’s lots to explore in texture and flavour. Could be a contender for best cabernet (and cabernet blend) for me for the year (2012 releases). 95 points. Mike Bennie, The Wine Front
OTHER AVAILABLE WINES
2014 Mount Mary Triolet RRP $100
A 65/25/10% blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Muscadelle; hand-picked, destemmed, lightly crushed, different cultured yeast strains for each parcel, 100% barrel-fermented, matured for 11 months in oak on partial solids with some stirring. Without question, the best white Bordeaux blend in Australia, combining richness with finesse and length – and above all else – dazzling complexity. 97 points. James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion 2017
2011 Mount Mary Pinot Noir RRP $170
Very light colour; the perfumed red berry, rose petal and spice bouquet is followed by a light-bodied, elegant, palate; no miracle here, just an honest reflection of the vintage. That said, it may surprise with its tenacity. 92 points. James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion