97 points - "100% destemmed and fermented with as many whole berries as possible. Left to soak for four days, pre- fermentation with one pump over per day, then plunged three times per day. 15 months in French barriques (25% new). A bright crimson red. Perfumed and seductive even at this early stage. Aromas of wild red berries, gentle spice, dark rose and bracken. Concentrated and structured with very fine, sinewy and savoury tannins. A brilliant, non-mainstream Yarra Valley pinot that’s been built to go the distance." - Philip Rich (Halliday Wine Companion)

96 points - "The 2021 Pinot Noir is aromatic and silky (two obvious qualities I accept). It offers notes of redcurrant, pomegranate, cherry, tobacco, graphite/lead pencil, a hint of poached strawberry and even inflections of sumac. Quince paste is suggested, and quince paste it is. (The power of suggestion is strong, but sometimes it's apt—you've got to be big enough to own up to descriptors that aren't your own.) There are also juicy, ripe, summer strawberries. This is spiced and rich and sits firmly on the mid-palate, but it is supple and succulent also. Cool-feeling tannins shape the fruit in the mouth and draw the wine out over the long finish. It has a super svelte, streamlined shape. The tannins are gently chewy and persist through the finish. This is a lovely wine. It is placid but sure, sapid. No whole bunches contribute to the texture here. It has super fine tannins. Four to six days pumped over, the wine was plunged rigorously during ferment. Generally, it sits on the skins for a couple of days post-ferment (14-16 days in total) and then is pressed." - Erin Larkin (The Wine Advocate)

96 points & Top 100 Australian Wines of 2023 - "The winemaking investment in the pinot noir has been substantial. Maker Sam Middleton eschews the common regional recipe of whole-bunches, instead maximizing whole berries. These are extracted judiciously with pump-overs and plunging, a sure way to avoid soft, hollow wines. The defining factor of these pinots is the lack of obvious fruit, Middleton’s aim. This is my type of ideology, with riffs on root spice, damson, quince paste and griotte, that sweet cherry scent seldom found in pinot outside of great Burgundy. A stunning pinot. I may be underscoring it. Drinkable now, but best from 2026." - Ned Goodwin MW (JamesSuckling.com)

96 points - "Simple, timeless labels on these wines from Mount Mary, and I’m glad they’ve not changed for quite some time. Sam Middleton thinks maybe the best release since the 2015. Ripe strawberry, a little spice, pretty too with some rose and chamomile, mint and undergrowth. It’s medium-bodied, red berries and honey, with a savoury tobacco edge, the quality of tannin is excellent here, offering grip and a sort of tea leaf character, which puts me in mind of Barbaresco (though don’t mind me), and the finish is long, firm and shapely, and kind of ferrous and minerally. It feels young and pent up as at now, to some extent, though I reckon it will evolve into a classic MM Pinot with considered cellaring. A terrific release." - Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)

One of the most brilliant characteristics of Pinot noir as a variety is that it tends to mirror, reflect and express the season more clearly than any other variety.

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.