2017 Mount Mary Vineyard, Quintet, Yarra Valley, Australia
Critics reviews
13% alcohol, sealed under natural cork.
I saw this wine blind recently (in a largely international tasting) and could not place the variety or region. I can see why here today: the fruit in the 2017 Quintet is almost unbelievably red-fruited. It is buoyant and supple and speaks eloquently of raspberry seed, black cherry, red apple skins, blond tobacco, hints of sweet roasted meats (distant wafts only), enoki mushroom and red miso; the experience is inchoate and thrilling in equal measure.
In isolation, perhaps, it may be easy to assume that the wine, given its age versus purity quotient, is simple. But given what we know about the capacity for aging carried by this vineyard/cuvée, I'd say you were grievously mistaken to judge it in that manner. This is a sleeper wine and one that hasn't even started to show us what it is capable of. It's a superstar.
Drink 2023 - 2057
Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate (September 2023)
45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 16% Cabernet Franc, 5% Malbec, 4% Petit Verdot. Aged for 22 months in oak (60% new barriques).
Rather evolved garnet. The weakest colour. Slightly simple, muted nose. Smells more like textbook Cabernet Sauvignon than a rounded blend. A little pinched and firm. Mount Mary? Quite a bit of acidity and a bone-dry finish. Tannins are still in evidence, and the fruit is low-key. It probably seems quite sophisticated in an Australian context… A little light.
Drink 2023 - 2033
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com (December 2022)
This hits this wine's upper register of vintage quality, showing a fresh, youthful and attractive array of redder fruit with gentle, cedary-oak overtones and a light, earthy edge. The palate is so silky and elegant; the fine, ribbon-like tannins hold long and true. A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot.
Best from 2025
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com (May 2019)
45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 16% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot, and 4% Malbec, all vinified separately and matured in French oak (35% new) in various larger vessels and vats. The bouquet is gently cedary and savoury, and the palate adds herbal and green olive notes to the finish. It's still to find its feet (all five of them).
James Halliday, WineCompanion.com.au (March 2019)
About this WINE
Mount Mary Vineyard
Mount Mary has an exalted reputation in the wine world and has accrued a somewhat cult following. Established in the Yarra Valley in 1971, with an annual production of around 3,000 cases, it continues the legacy of its founding father, winemaker Dr John Middleton -who died aged 82 on 27 June 2006- to produce superbly refined, powerful Cabernets and elegant, long-lived Pinot Noirs. The Triolet blend and Chardonnay are two superb offerings from the white stable. It's just a pity so little is made!
Yarra Valley
Victoria’s oldest viticultural area dates back to 1837. Initially it won admiration and trophies for its dry wines before losing out first to the fortifieds from South Australia, and then to the dairy cow. The 1960s saw its revival with Dr Bailey Carrodus founding Yarra Yering in 1969, closely followed by another medic, Dr John Middleton, launching Mount Mary in 1971.
Famous for its Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, the region has attracted interest from sparkling houses, notably Domaine Chandon as well as from one or two corporates; Melbourne’s continued sprawl represents the biggest threat to this Victorian idyll.
The climate is cool maritime (it’s just 15 miles to the ocean), exposed to wind and rain with spring frosts a potential risk. The region’s warmer northerly aspects are preferred for viticulture. The best soils are underpinned by a low vigour, red-brown clay subsoil, while a significant swathe of the region is characterised by vigorous deep-red loam.
Recommended producers: Toolangi, Mount Mary
Cabernet Sauvignon
The most famous red wine grape in the world and one of the most widely planted.
It is adaptable to a wide range of soils, although it performs particularly well on well-drained, low-fertile soils. It has small, dusty, black-blue berries with thick skins that produce deeply coloured, full-bodied wines with notable tannins. Its spiritual home is the Médoc and Graves regions of Bordeaux where it thrives on the well-drained gravel-rich soils producing tannic wines with piercing blackcurrant fruits that develop complex cedarwood and cigar box nuances when fully mature.
The grape is widely planted in California where Cabernet Sauvignon based wines are distinguished by their rich mixture of cassis, mint, eucalyptus and vanilla oak. It is planted across Australia and with particular success in Coonawarra where it is suited to the famed Terra Rossa soil. In Italy barrique aged Cabernet Sauvignon is a key component in Super Tuscans such as Tignanello and Sassicaia, either on its own or as part of a blend with Sangiovese.
When is a wine ready to drink?
We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.
Not ready
These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.
Ready - youthful
These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.
Ready - at best
These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.
Ready - mature
These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.
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Description
13% alcohol, sealed under natural cork.
I saw this wine blind recently (in a largely international tasting) and could not place the variety or region. I can see why here today: the fruit in the 2017 Quintet is almost unbelievably red-fruited. It is buoyant and supple and speaks eloquently of raspberry seed, black cherry, red apple skins, blond tobacco, hints of sweet roasted meats (distant wafts only), enoki mushroom and red miso; the experience is inchoate and thrilling in equal measure.
In isolation, perhaps, it may be easy to assume that the wine, given its age versus purity quotient, is simple. But given what we know about the capacity for aging carried by this vineyard/cuvée, I'd say you were grievously mistaken to judge it in that manner. This is a sleeper wine and one that hasn't even started to show us what it is capable of. It's a superstar.
Drink 2023 - 2057
Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate (September 2023)
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