Quintet is a classically proportioned style based on five classic Bordeaux varieties; Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Merlot and Petit Verdot. The wine exhibits a purity of fruit, poise, elegance and structure found in few Australian Cabernets with cedar and blackcurrant "small fruit" aromas, fine-grained savoury tannins, superb vinosity and flavour length. Naturally balanced, well-concentrated and classically proportioned, the wine has a great reputation for longevity.
The grapes are hand harvested, lightly crushed, totally destemmed, fermented in both open and closed fermenters with careful temperature control and frequent pumping over. Malolactic fermentation takes place once primary fermentation is completed. After the lees have settled, the wine is de-vatted to 30% new French oak barriques and 70% large format oak casks in its first year. In its second year, the wine is racked into seasoned two to six-year-old barriques for 10 months.
Lovely elegant wine with a cedar, cigarbox bouquet and a complex, mellow personality. Intense and beautifully balanced, a wine of poise and style. Ripeness is spot-on, and it's achieved at modest alcohol, too. The corollary of this is a refreshing style of wine that leaves you feeling like another glass, and unlike higher-alcohol reds, it never palls. 96 points, Huon Hooke (huonhooke.com)
Supremely graceful and fine in typical Mount Mary style; the long and silky palate has a tapestry of red and black fruit flavours, the finish long and satisfying, the aftertaste lingering for minutes. 95 points, James Halliday (winecompanion.com.au).
Supremely elegant, stylish and focused, this aristocratic red has a heady, floral perfume of dark cherries, plums, cassis and blackberries backed by scents of violets and dried herbs, dark chocolate/vanilla oak and suggestions of mocha. Sumptuously flavoured but silky-smooth, it’s dark-fruited, dusty and savoury, with an intensity that builds steadily towards its palate-staining finish. Framed by fine and beautifully ripened tannins, it flaunts its considerable influence from merlot. 96 points, Jeremy Oliver (jeremyoliver.com.au).
Yarra Valley
The Yarra Valley was first planted by the Ryrie brothers who explored a way through the Snowy Mountains to the Yarra Valley, planting grapes in 1838 just three years after the foundation of Melbourne. A wine industry (developed by Swiss Settlers particularly Hubert de Castella and Baron Guillaume de Pury in the 1850s) thrived during the gold rush era and heyday of the 19th century. However, the end of the gold rush brought the wine industry into decline and it was not until the 1970’s that the modern wine industry started up again. The region is probably Australia’s best-known cool-climate area, yet it is really a patchwork of meso-climates. This varied topography creates an incredible set of variables. Vineyards are planted on elevations of 50 to 400m on varying aspects and management programmes. The more exposed sites are subject to severe spring frosts and winds. Overall, the area experiences a relatively high rainfall pattern and is known for its temperature extremes during ripening. Site selection is crucial, with the best vineyards often located where the original vines were once planted, generally on sandy clay loams and gravels. The Yarra Valley is well known for high quality Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Blends with Shiraz increasingly garnering attention. Sparkling wine production is also extremely important, with many of Australia’s finest examples produced in the region.
