2021 Mount Mary Chardonnay

Highly Rated
A wonderfully precise example of the benchmark that is Mount Mary Chardonnay. Always a picture-perfect release from Sam Middleton.

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Sale price$150.00
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Description

The famed old vines on the Mount Mary estate yield some of the finest Chardonnay in the district.

Sensitive winemaking from Sam Middleton and respect for the fruit is at the core of this wine. Sam looks to support the Chardonnay with high quality oak, a relatively hard pressing to extract more in the way of texture and some lees stirring. Malo is avoided to retain acid purity. Finesse is the name of the game here.

Sam Middleton pulls together an exceptional Yarra Chardonnay. It's wines like this that really showcase just how marvellous Aussie wines can be - he's truly nailed it.

97 points - "The 2021 Chardonnay leads with crushed nuts, curry leaves, apple blossom, wet slate/river stones, spring flowers and brine on the nose. It is incredibly fragrant here today. In the mouth, the wine is detailed and rich; it undulates across the palate with notes of salted white stone fruit, nashi pear, a hint of loquat, crushed cashew and a hint of mustard seed. It's all here. The wine is so pretty and restrained, but it is complete and powerful at the same time. There is sandalwood and saffron, and the oak is toasty and spiced but is so precisely embossed into the fruit that it supports rather than frames. Malolactic fermentation is eschewed here, and it is absolutely not required. This is a wine of detail and precision, and this is never more true than in this lovely, balanced season. What a lovely wine. It has palate-staining fruit. The wine gets better as it sits in the glass." - Erin Larkin (The Wine Advocate)

96 points - "Hand picked, 20% whole-bunch pressed, the balance crushed and destemmed. Matured in French puncheons and barriques (30% new) for 11 months. A light, bright gold with green tinges. Seductive with its bouquet of melon, fresh fig, yellow peach, chamomile and a little lemongrass. A savoury nuance, too. On the palate, which is powerful, densely packed and structured, you'll find some grapefruit pith and hazelnut. Finishes extremely long, saline and gently grippy." - Philip Rich (Halliday Wine Companion)

95 points & Top 100 Australian Wines of 2023 - "The only cuvee in the range to be bottled under stelvin. While this closure may promote a waft of reductive tension, reduction is never intentionally sought and depends on the nature of the fruit and yeasts of any given year. A pungent, mid-weighted expression with real torque: tension, expansion and release of yellow and green plum, nectarine and a indescribable chalkiness, the oak tucked in effortlessly and barely detectible. Drinkable now, but best from 2026. Screw cap." - Ned Goodwin MW (JamesSuckling.com)

95 points - "A bit of a richer style for Mount Mary Chardonnay in 2021. Pear, quince, some struck match and cedar spice. It has a fair amount of power, with a juicy acid line, a firm flinty texture, apple and pear, cashew and sizzled butter with sage, and a tight finish offering preserved lemon, apricot and a zesty tang. Long. Kind of intense, but very good." - Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)

We aim to make a Chardonnay with great length, which reaches a balance between richness and elegance. While some techniques are borrowed from the Burgundians, there are some departures from traditional practice in response to local factors, which ensures a unique wine. The most notable of these is that our Chardonnay does not undergo malolactic fermentation, as our local climate leaves the fruit with ideal acidity when it is picked. Our Chardonnay is matured in 30% new French oak barriques with the remainder in older barrels and large casks (1500L). The entire production is barrel fermented. Relatively hard pressing is employed to give the wine texture and lees stirring is carried out to add complexity and body. The Chardonnay is matured in barrel for 11 months prior to bottling.

Price Bracket $101 and Above
Type White
Body Full Bodied
Variety Chardonnay
Country Australia
Region Yarra Valley
Australian State VIC
Feature High Score
Reviewed By Halliday Wine Companion
The Wine Front
James Suckling
Critic Score 96
Size 750ml
Vintage 2021
Closure Screw Cap

Mount Mary

One of the great Australian domains is in the form of its life with young Sam Middleton as head winemaker.

The list of accolades for the great Mount Mary is long and rich. They are one of the country's most celebrated and collectable family-owned estates. From the impossible balance of the iconic Quintet and Triolet blends to the scintillating Chardonnays and the rare and almost mythical Pinot Noir, there is not a hair out of place in the Mount Mary lineup.

With Sam Middleton in charge of the winemaking process, Mount Mary is entering its second golden age as one of the jewels of the Yarra Valley.

Sam Middleton (Photo Credit: Ewen Bell / Wine Australia) Mount Mary

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