This is exciting stuff! We’re proud to present to you a one-off wine from a one-off estate. From the great 2015 vintage in the Yarra Valley – a harvest which earned Mount Mary the title of James Halliday Winery of the Year and yielded “a new high-water mark for Mount Mary Quintet” according to Gary Walsh – comes this incredible wine. Comprising 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Malbec from the oldest plantings on the vineyard, it’s a fitting tribute to the estate’s visionary founder, as well as a landmark on its onward, upward journey.
THE VISION
The limited release JWDM Cabernet is a wine never bottled before at Mount Mary. It is made from a selection of our oldest Cabernet Sauvignon vines, planted in 1971 by founder Dr John William Dyer Middleton. It is a one-off, limited-edition wine produced from the 2015 vintage.
With only 649 bottles produced, it is extremely limited. Each bottle is individually numbered from 1 to 649.
THE VINTAGE
2015 was quite simply a truly outstanding Yarra Valley harvest. Exceptional ripening conditions throughout the growing season contributed to vibrant, expressive, complex and perfectly balanced, long-lived wines. The sheer quality of fruit from our oldest and most established vines makes this a very special wine, providing a unique representation of our terroir from a highly acclaimed vintage. 2015 also commemorates 40 years of winemaking at Mount Mary, a significant milestone in the history of our treasured site.
2015 MOUNT MARY JWDM CABERNET RRP $650
John’s initial and firm belief in 1971 was that Cabernet Sauvignon was the Yarra Valley’s premium grape variety. This sentiment influenced his vision for Mount Mary and in turn drove our decision in making this one-off wine. There is an incredible latent power, elegance and balance to this wine that is testament to a 45+ year old vineyard. The palate shows impressive depth and persistence, with a fruit profile that is darker and more brooding than our flagship Quintet blend typically shows. The gravelly tannic spine is another example of just how great Yarra Cabernet can be. We do not wish to indicate a drinking window but expect the generations of Middletons to follow at Mount Mary will enjoy this wine for many decades to come. – Sam Middleton
REVIEW
Perfume. Precision. Power. Heady fragrance of violets over boysenberry, mainly, though a full spectrum of berries are in the mix, pencil, cedar, baking spices, subtle earth and gravel. It’s medium-bodied, plush with ripe berries, tobacco and exotic perfume. Tannin is deep and resonant, dense and gravelly, and for a man who loves his tannin, it’s blissfully good. Finish rolls on and on, all that tannin, savoury flavour and exquisite perfume like the vapour trail of a jet. It’s hard to fault, and so easy to fall in love with. It’s destined to become one of the legends of Australian wine. 98+ points. Gary Walsh, The Wine Front April 2019