The Wine Blokes

Last Sunday I was finishing up my Sunday chores when I recieved a phone call from Paul at Maximilians Restaurant in the Adelaide Hills.  He told me to get around to the restaurant quick smart as they had spontanesouly decided to have a tasting of the some of the wines that had just come in.  Now, whenever I get a call form the guys at the restaurant for a tasting, I know it wont be boring, either the company or the wines. 

So I rocked up to find a table full of some pretty serious wines from around the world. However the purpose of the tasting, as I found out, was to try the current range of the icon Yarra Valley winery, Mount Mary.

“Mount Mary Vineyard is a family owned, single vineyard estate located in the heart of the Yarra Valley which lies in the south-eastern corner of Australia. Established in 1971 by Dr. John and Marli Middleton, Mount Mary was one of the first vineyards planted in the resurgence of the Yarra Valley as a premium grape growing region.

The inspiration for planting vines in this area came from the local history of the Yarra Valley and in particular from the wines being made by the Swiss settlers in the 1850’s. These Swiss immigrants had been greatly influenced by the French wine producers and they recognised the climatic parallels the Yarra Valley shared with both Bordeaux and Burgundy.” (Coutesy of www.MountMary.com.au).

Mount Mary has developed an extremely strong pedigree, and command significant prices for their wines, with current release Cabernets retailing from anywhere between $80 and $120 AUD.  After tasting the following wines, I’m convinced that if any Australian wines can command such high prices (which I think are few), the Mount Mary wines certainly stand up.

Wine 1: Mount Mary Triolet 2006: The Triolet is inspired from the great white wines from the Graves region of Bordeaux. The barrel fermented and aged blend of Sauvingnon Blanc, Semillon, and Muscadelle, is complex and has great finesse. However it was a little tight, even after being opened for over 6 hours. It is overtly European in style, with hints of citrus, lime, and slightly mineral. The great aspect of the wine is it balance and seamless structure, and the oak has been used sparingly, but there is enough intergration to provide some nice complexity to the fruit and texture. A very nice wine.

Wine 2: Mount Mary Chardonnay 2006: Again the Chardonnay has a similar refinement to the Triloet, much in the Burgundian style, and also a factor of the lack of any malo-lactic fermentation. The wine has great structure and seamless mouthfeel. The melon and slight vanilin type flavours are well balanced. However, what makes this a very good wine, is the tremendous length of flavour and texture. It was voted the best wine of the night by all who attended.

Wine 3: Mount Mary Pinot Noir 2005: Initially this wine was a little closed on the nose, and even a little sulfidic. However once open for a while it settled down and showed nice plum and sligth cassis flavours. It wasn’t received by the tasters as well as the other wines, however it was agreed that as far as Aussie Pinot goes, it was still pretty good, and could hold a candle to many Burgundians. The only real negative comment was that it was a little simplistic. Still a nice wine, well balanced, and well made.

Wine 4: Mount Mary Quintet 1994 & 2005: This red blend has been the flagship for many years, at least for many collectors. Depending on the year, it may comprise of Canbernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot. So it was nice to see how an older wine was holding up. We where not dissappointed. The 94 is incredibly rich and generous, with ripe plums, a velvety softness, and substantial depth.  Hints of liquorice and cassis, with a seamless finish. If anything it finishes a bit short, but amazingly rich and still going strong.

The 2005 had deep rich plum and blackberry characters, with fine oak integration, especially in the nose. It showed quite a bit of extra punch compared to the 94, but still young and needs more time. A very complex array of flavours, but a bit unbalanced at this stage. Will be interesting to look at it again in a couple of years, a pretty good wine.

 

The overwhelming comment on the Mount Mary range was how consistent and well made the wines were. The quality of the vineyards and fruit are obvious, but it seems they have consistency year in year out. Even the ordinary years produce some nice wines.

You can read more on the Mount Mary website.