2016 Mount Mary Pinot Noir
The nose of the Mount Mary Pinot Noir 2016 shows all the hallmarks of what we have come to expect from Mount Mary Pinot. Stewed strawberries, plums and the very familiar quince character are here, so often present in our Pinots. There is earthiness and spice on the nose adding complexity. The palate is firm with ripe tannin but complemented so well with juicy, rich dark fruits, perfectly matched with high quality French oak. This wine is built for the dinner table, to be enjoyed with great food and excellent company. It will continue to develop beautifully for another decade and beyond.
Mount Mary is a family owned, single vineyard estate located in the heart of the Yarra Valley. The region is in the south-eastern corner of Australia, east of Melbourne in the state of Victoria. Established in 1971 by John and Marli Middleton, Mount Mary was one of the first vineyards planted in the resurgence of the Yarra Valley as a premium wine producing region.
The Mount Mary Vineyard estate wines are premium handcrafted wines produced in limited quantities. They are the result of the season and the vineyard in which they were grown. Each wine captures a sense of time and place. The four Mount Mary Vineyard estate wines are comprised of two blends traditionally grown and made in Bordeaux, France (Quintet and Triolet) and two varieties traditionally grown and made in Burgundy, France (Pinot noir and Chardonnay). These wines reflect our region, vineyard and the season in which they were grown. They believe that each of Their estate wines have exceptional ageing and cellaring potential.
Their Pinot noir vines were sourced from Western Victoria in 1971. This material was acquired before individual clonal selections were considered, and as such, our older Pinot blocks are a mix of many clones. A visiting French ampelographer (vine expert) once told John Middleton (Founder) that there were in the order of 30+ clones in their original Pinot block. Subsequent plantings of Pinot on this site have been selections from the original block, and the clonal selection has been somewhat refined. There are also some newer blocks of Pinot noir planted (as of 2008) to American rootstocks and are of specific clonal material, namely MV6 and 777. In the winery the emphasis is on simplicity. By today’s standards, relatively short fermentations are employed, typically 8-10 days. This is followed by 16 months of barrel maturation consisting of 25% new oak barriques. Minimal, if any, fining and filtration is carried out prior to bottling.
Ullage 12 mm from the capsule.