Mount Mary "JWDM" Cabernet 2015

A rare one-off, limited released named after Mount Mary's founder John William Dyer Middleton.

"95% cabernet, 5% malbec, hand-picked, bunch-sorted, open ferment whole berry/crushed fruit, matured in French oak (65% new, 35% second fill). JWDM are the initials of founder John Middleton. I have one word for the colour of the wine: amazing. The same applies to the bouquet and palate with a criss-cross of super-intense blackberry/cassis and a bevy of savoury lines of flavour. All up the wine is so intense it is painful, the pain from heaven." 99 points. - James Halliday, The James Halliday Wine Companion August 2019

"Perfume. Precision. Power. Heady fragrance of violets over boysenberry, mainly, though a full spectrum of berries are in the mix, pencil, cedar, baking spices, subtle earth and gravel. It's medium-bodied, plush with ripe berries, tobacco and exotic perfume. Tannin is deep and resonant, dense and gravelly, and for a man who loves his tannin, it's blissfully good. Finish rolls on and on, all that tannin, savoury flavour and exquisite perfume like the vapour trail of a jet. It's hard to fault, and so easy to fall in love with. It's destined to become one of the legends of Australian wine." 98+ points. Gary Walsh, The Wine Front April 2019

"2015 was quite simply a truly outstanding Yarra Valley harvest. Exceptional ripening conditions throughout the growing season contributed to vibrant, expressive, complex and perfectly balanced, long-lived wines. The sheer quality of fruit from our oldest and most established vines makes this a very special wine, providing a unique representation of our terroir from a highly acclaimed vintage. 2015 also commemorates 40 years of winemaking at Mount Mary, a significant milestone in the history of our treasured site.

I want to stress this wine is a one-off, limited release to commemorate this milestone in Mount Mary's history. Before leaving this parcel out of the 2015 Quintet, the Quintet blend was tasted blind by three winemakers, with and without this Cabernet parcel. It was concluded that the exclusion of this 649 bottles did not have any negative effect on the overall quality of the Quintet. Had it been the other way around we would not have chosen to make this wine! We are fully committed to the Quintet remaining our most important and highly prized wine and our primary focus is to continue to make this wine better and better." - Sam Middleton

Country: Australia
Producer: Mount Mary
Region: Yarra Valley