2017 Mount Mary Pinot Noir

Mount Mary

Australia / Yarra Valley / Mount Mary

John planted Pinot Noir at Mount Mary in 1971. The original block is 1.2 acres in size and contains more than 20 different Pinot clones. The clonal diversity provides such complexity and uniqueness to this wine. Put simply, there has never been a better year in the Yarra Valley for Pinot Noir than 2017. The nose opens with dominant primary fruit but reveals so many other complexities as the wine breathes in the glass. Stewed strawberries, raspberry, cherry and quince make way to beetroot, hints of marzipan, spice and dark chocolate. The palate is medium bodied but is defined by the underlying intensity and length of flavour. There is a fine grain of tannin that runs confidently through this wine, building power while also adding to the savoury characteristics. With its best years still well and truly ahead of it, this is a wine set to age beautifully in the cellar for another decade or more. – Sam Middleton

August, 2019

James Halliday

Halliday Wine Companion 2020

99 points.

Vines average age 27yo, hand-picked, bunch-sorted on vibrating tables, open-fermented with cultured yeast, 14 days on skins, matured in French barriques (25-30% new). Glorious colour; the bouquet has the complexity you expect from a 20+yo Burgundy with aromas of field and forest floor. The palate is utterly exceptional, with perfect balance and length. The multitude of flavours swirl and dance – red tree fruits, red cherry foremost, plums close behind, thence to field and forest floor, capturing wild raspberry and strawberry. Sam Middleton thinks this will be one of the all-time greats of Mount Mary, and I’m sure he is right.

September, 2019

Gary Walsh

The Wine Front

95+ points.

There’s much fuss and demand for Mount Mary Pinot Noir, and while it’s very good, my heart (and wallet) will always belong to Quintet. There’s a lot to get your nose around here, that’s for sure. Poached strawberry, raspberry, cherry, mint, spice, chocolate coated marzipan, dried roses, autumnal things, creamy cedar oak. It’s juicy and sweetly fruited, perfumed and succulent, tannin is buried but grips with graphite surety, acidity fresh and like just-picked berries and tangerines, silty and perfumed on the finish. It’s not backwards in coming forward, yet has a latent power and fragrance that will stand it in good stead with considerable bottle age. Excellent release. More to come.

February, 2020

Mike Bennie

The Wine Front

94 points

Smoky toasty notes, kirsch, sour cherry too, earthiness and sweet herbs – very lovely characters and all so well meshed. Spice and savoury notes to taste, light carpet of mocha tannin under the cherry-berry fruits, good bitterness excellent length and feel. 2020-2035.

June, 2019

Nick Stock

JamesSuckling.com

93 points.

A very plush and attractive Pinot from a great Yarra Valley vintage, this has an air of bright, lightly spicy and sappy cherry fruit, framed in supple, smooth-honed tannins. Drink or hold.

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About Mount Mary

Mount Mary is one of the great small wineries of Australia, established by Dr John Middleton in 1972. Production is tiny. Mount Mary is noted for both the character and high quality of its wines. Since the first vintage in 1976, it has established itself as one of Australia's most highly regarded producers, commanding a mythical status among wine collectors. The vineyard faces due north and captures optimum sunlight during the growing season. The purity of fruit, poise and structure of Quintet, a Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Merlot and Petit Verdot blend, epitomises the estate. It resonates with individuality of place and Dr John’s fastidious respect for the landscape. Mount Mary has continued to take great steps forward while staying true to the vision of Dr John, whose son David oversees the business while grandson Sam Middleton has taken on the winemaking mantle with aplomb.
“It’s axiomatic that generational change can be good or bad, obvious or discreet. The changes at Mount Mary have been unambiguously good, but fittingly discreet.” – James Halliday

About

Sam Middleton is a third generation wine maker from the Mount Mary family. He holds a degree in Agricultural Science from the University of Melbourne as well as a degree in Wine Science from Charles Sturt University. His background includes employment at several significant producers including Coldstream Hills and Dominique Portet. Sam has gained experience in France working a vintage in Burgundy in 2009 and travelling extensively through other wine regions on a number of occasions since. Bordeaux is of special interest to him as a result of its role in Mount Mary's history. Growing up in the Yarra Valley alongside his father and grandfather, grapes and wine have always been a part of life. He has always demonstrated a passion for primary production and has a deep respect for this region and its unique ability to produce world-class wines.