Pinot noir

Overview

Our 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 our 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.

Vertical tasting notes

2016 Pinot noir

Release Note

We often find our Pinots made in the warmer vintages surprise us the most when tasted in vertical lineups. We believe this speaks to the uniqueness of our site, in particular the cold nights we experience during the growing season here at Mount Mary. The nose of the 2016 Pinot noir 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.

Released in the Newsletter 2018

Tasting notes for past vintages are only available to the Members’ Table. Please to view.