Introduction
With covid-19 restrictions holding their unhappy swathe over the Melbourne region for timeframes inconsistent with sense or proportion in 2021, two of the Yarra Valley’s leading producers, Mount Mary and Yeringberg, each opted to present their wines to a virtual audience in lieu of their in person release tastings. This proved to be a very good way to do things. I preferred it to tasting at the winery in terms of actually evaluating the wines. This is because the format allowed for a proper tasting. Separate glasses, proper serving portions, no jostling and the winemakers were there live, providing informative discussion of, and context for, the wines. Virtual tastings of course will never replace a vineyard trip as an experience and that part was sadly missed.
The format of the wines and tasting
Both Mount Mary and Yeringberg made their wines available for purchase in circa 60ml bottles sealed with screw caps. The bottles arrived close to the tasting and the freshness of the bottles in this format proved to be sound, lacking the disappointing oxygen ingress of some of the less successful versions that I encountered over the course of tastings in 2020.
Both producers chose their winemaker as their primary messenger, with Sam Middleton from Mount Mary ably interviewed by Ed Merrison of wholesaler Cellarhand and Sandra de Pury from Yeringberg co-presenting their wines with viticulturalist David de Pury.
Yarra Valley 2019 vintage
Listening to two different presentations, it is plain that the 2019 vintage was a challengingly warm to hot year in the Yarra Valley for both the viticulturist and winemaker. Sam Middleton of Mount Mary noted that December was humid and wet, leading to disease pressure and January was not better. It had record heat, with a number of days exceeding 35c and was dry too. Yeringberg noted a cool and wet spring, a hot January and a cool and mild autumn. Overall these are warm year wines, the point perhaps best illustrated by Yeringberg’s decision to produce a straight cabernet sauvignon wine in 2019.
Style
Both Mount Mary and Yeringberg aim for an elegant style, making the challenge of a warm vintage perhaps more acute without viticultural and winemaking interventions. However, both producers seemed to navigate the challenges without much of a hitch. In most cases, elegant and medium bodied wines were produced, almost despite the vintage conditions. This can only be attributed to significant experience and terroir.
Overall, the cabernet blends performed best, with due credit to an excellent white Bordeaux in the case of Mount Mary. Although objectively good wines, I was less convinced by the pinot noirs from both producers in the warmer vintage. Producing cabernet sauvignon and pinot noir from the same region is unusual in an international sense, so it is not a surprising conclusion that they might not both succeed strongly in the same vintage. Indeed, it might be surprising were it otherwise.
Mount Mary 2019 vintage wines (2021 release)
Mount Mary Triolet 2019
This is a white Bordeaux style, and perhaps the most compelling of the Mount Mary new releases. The release is a blend of 65% sauvignon blanc, 25% semillon and 10% muscadelle. It has aromas of pear, lemon, cedar, hazelnuts and flint. The palate is full bodied, the length between medium and long (10 plus seconds) and the acidity towards high (but not high). The oak is seamlessly integrated, and presents as a second or third use oak that complements the wine. This wine is ready to drink now, but should improve with a further 2 to 5 years in bottle and then have a decade or more as its best drinking window. This is among the better sauvignon blanc-semillon blends that I have tasted from an Australian producer. The sauvignon blanc is intended for mid palate concentration, the muscadelle is picked early and the semillon is used to bring acidity, drive and citrus character. Rating: Very Good.
Mount Mary chardonnay 2019
Mount Mary’s chardonnay does not really show the warmer vintage, which is unexpected. The wine has an aroma of orange zest, lemon zest and subtle oak. The palate has a fullish body, medium to high acidity (chiselled in impression) and very well integrated oak. The length is long (20 seconds) and the finish is balanced. There is also a flint character, but the character is modest. This is a chardonnay style that sees some, but not a lot of, reduction. In Sam Middleton’s words, they won’t stop it if they see it, but it is not sought. The oak is 25% new and as mentioned, very well integrated. This wine is ready to drink now, and best over the next 3 to 8 years. Rating: Very Good.
Mount Mary pinot noir 2019
This wine in my view is the least successful of the new release Mount Mary wines, showing the warm vintage. Lest this be misunderstood, it is still objectively a very good pinot noir from one of Victoria’s top producers. The 2019 pinot noir has an aroma of game, bitumen, earth and baked red fruits. The palate is full bodied, with stewed red fruits, glacé cherries, char, smoke and some tannins (between low and medium, adding some grip). There is some top quality oak in use, but it did not hide, appearing on the finish. The wine is ready to drink now and I would suggest drinking over the next 3 to 5 years. The winemaking is interesting, with no whole bunch used at all. Instead, “whole grapes” are used with some intracellular fermentation intentionally sought, to give some fruit lift. These destemmed but whole grapes are achieved with newly available equipment. Rating: Good to Very Good.
Mount Mary Quintet 2019
The Quintet in 2019 is a blend of 44% cabernet sauvignon, 30% merlot, 16% cabernet franc, 5% malbec and 5% petit verdot. This is a true Bordeaux style blend and a higher percentage of merlot is in use than most Bordeaux blends in Australia. It suits the wine. Merlot produces good wines in the Yarra Valley and further north at altitude in the Upper Goulburn Valley. The 2019 Quintet has a strong capsicum aroma, green herbal nose and reminders of bay leaf, stems, smoke, bitumen and French oak. The palate is medium bodied, the tannins high and a touch bitter, the length long (more than 20 seconds) and the oak contribution evident. It is not easy to taste young, high quality cabernet, but the long length, firm tannins and fine French oak, point to a high quality wine that is suitable for long ageing. This Quintet is too youthful to drink now and requires 3 to 5 years of cellaring to approach it. It then should have a best drinking window of a further 5 to 15 years. Rating: Very Good.
Other Mount Mary Wines tasted
As a comparison, the 2017 and 2015 Quintets were also offered for tasting.
Mount Mary Quintet 2017
This wine has less overt capsicum aromas than the 2019 vintage, but is still objectively green. Graphite, smoke, bitumen and dark fruits complete the aroma. The palate is medium bodied, the tannins between medium and high, the length long (30 seconds plus) and refined. The style is perfectly tucked in and is drinking splendidly. It can be approached now, but could be expected to improve over the next 3 to 10 years, and then have a drinking window of a further decade. It is the least ripe of the three Quintet wines on tasting and the oak is 30% new. Rating: Outstanding.
Mount Mary Quintet 2015
2015 is regarded as a good all around vintage. This wine has developing rather than youthful aromas of black fruit, underlying baked fruit, mint, smoke and ash. The palate is medium bodied, with reminders of leather. It is chalky with medium to high tannins that are very fine, and long length on the finish. This wine closely resembles an Haut-Médoc in style and provides outstanding drinking. It can be approached now and over the next decade. Rating: Outstanding.
Yeringberg 2019 wines (2021 release)
Yeringberg Marsanne Roussanne 2019
This wine is a blend of 64% marsanne and 36% roussanne. Both were picked in April, so hardly early. The Yarra Valley is interesting and perhaps unique in that it is capable of producing Bordeaux, Rhône and Burgundian style wines. In my view, its strongest suit are the Bordeaux style wines. In the glass, this wine is floral, waxy and reminds of lemons. The palate is medium to full bodied, the acidity high, the alcohol modest for a Rhône style blend at 12.5 and the mouthfeel waxy and textured. Only old oak is used. Ready to drink now, this wine will suit drinking over the next 5 to 6 years. Rating: Good.
Yeringberg chardonnay 2019
Yeringberg’s 2019 chardonnay sees 25% new oak and 25% malolactic fermentation. The aroma is restrained, minerally, nutty and subtle. The palate is full bodied, the fruit sweet in impression, and the acidity medium despite the modest MLF. The length on the finish is medium. In terms of balance, this wine is very neat and well proportioned and suitable for current drinking. Rating: Good.
Yeringberg pinot noir 2019
This is a very pale pinot noir. It opens to dense and tightly wound aromas of rhubarb, red fruits and spice. It is definitively pinot noir, with true varietal expression. The palate is medium to full bodied, the tannins between low and medium and the alcohol high for pinot noir at 14.0. The flavours remind of strawberry and spice. Its French oak plays a supporting role, and the finish is a little jammy. I found some heat on this wine from the warmer vintage and it reminded of a spicy, Mornington Peninsula style pinot noir. Similar to Mount Mary, there are no whole bunches in the wine. Also similar to Mount Mary, I found the pinot noir to be least best of the new releases, although with the same proviso, that this is a high quality producer and the wine is objectively very good. This pinot noir is ready to drink now and will suit drinking over the next 4 to 5 years. Rating: Good.
Yeringberg shiraz 2019
Yeringberg were pleased with their shiraz in 2019. It opens to aromas of rosemary, bouquet garnis, mint and spearmint. The whole bunch contribution for me was a little heavy handed, contributing a green and stemmy aroma. The palate is full bodied, red rather than black fruited and the green whole bunch characters contributed to medium tannins which are fine and grippy. The alcohol is 13.5. This is a stylistically distinctive shiraz that might be labelled syrah elsewhere. It is ready to drink now and over the next 8 to 10 years. Rating: Very Good.
Yeringberg cabernet blend 2019
The Yeringberg in 2019 is a blend of 55% cabernet sauvignon, 13% cabernet franc, 13% merlot, 10% petit Verdot and 9% malbec. Relative to the Quintet, it has more cabernet sauvignon and less merlot. In my view, it is the better of the two wines. It opens to aromas of blackcurrant, cedar, dusty red fruits and soy, the latter a typical merlot contribution. The palate is medium bodied, the tannins dusty and between medium and high and the length very long (30 seconds plus). The new oak contribution is 38% and the wine spent 23 months in barrel. This is a balanced and outstanding Yeringberg cabernet blend that can be approached now, but will suit cellaring for a further 3 to 5 years, and then have a best drinking window of a decade or more. Rating: Outstanding.
Yeringberg cabernet sauvignon 2019
Yeringberg in 2019 made four barrels of a straight cabernet sauvignon from vines planted in 1999, as befits the warm vintage. Its aroma reminded of the Quintet, with notes of herbs, bay leaf, clove, mint and chocolate-mint biscuit. The palate is medium to full bodied, the tannins medium to high, the finish long, and flavours predominantly of licorice and cedar. Stylistically, there was a resemblance to Coonawarra. This very intense wine should suit long term cellaring, and I would suggest it not be approached for at least 5 years. It then should have a further decade or more as its best drinking window. The Yeringberg cabernet blend is the more complete wine, but this is certainly compelling drinking. Rating: Very Good to Outsanding.
Producer websites
All wines were tasted in October 2021.
