About - Mount Mary Jeni Port marks the passing of a winemaking medico with a touch to rival Grange.
The original "boutique" winery, Mount Mary casts a giant shadow on the Australian wine-scape but all the while remains shadowy for many. We might have heard of the vineyard but few know of its exact location.
We might be aware that it makes some fine wine, might have even heard of the gloriously elegant Quintet. But how many of us have actually tasted it?
It was a winery you had to seek out, much like the man behind it, Dr John Middleton.
With his death on June 27, aged 82, Dr Middleton leaves many of us none the wiser. Still, others have been deeply enriched.
Anyone who has tasted the sublime Mount Mary 1990 Quintet or 1980 Cabernets wouldn't be human if they didn't feel a pang of sadness on hearing of his passing.
Dr Middleton - Dr John to his family - would have liked that because the bond he built up with lovers of his wine was cemented almost exclusively through experiencing the products.
He never sought media attention: there were no public tastings, definitely no winemaker dinners. He kept his own counsel, although he was generous with his time if his opinion was sought. However he remained famously sensitive to criticism for much of his winemaking life. What connection he had with the wine lover was largely through his annual newsletter, sent to those lucky enough to be on his mailing list.
To put the contribution of Dr Middleton and Mount Mary in perspective, you have to go back to the 1950s and '60s, when cows still roamed much of the Yarra Valley. The valley's golden era of winemaking had passed but was only a few years away from being revived by people such as doctors Middleton and McMahon, Guill de Pury and Bailey Carrodus.
A former meteorological officer in the airforce (colour blindness, reportedly, prevented him from becoming an officer), Dr Middleton studied medicine at Melbourne University with another young man who would play a seminal role in the rebirth of the Yarra Valley, Dr Peter McMahon. It was McMahon who persuaded the young Middleton (who, as Peter McMahon remembers, received first-class honours in obstetrics and gynaecology) to join him at his father's general practice in Lilydale.
Dr McMahon recalls that one of Dr Middleton's school friends lived at Great Western and was a friend of legendary Seppelt winemaker Colin Preece. "John got friendly with Colin Preece and he influenced him to a large degree," Dr McMahon says. A passion for wine was ignited.
John Middleton would get cuttings from Seppelt for an early vineyard at his home. Then came the next logical step. "We both started making wine in plastic bins and glass jar demijohns," Dr McMahon says.
"John was much more meticulous about all of this, much more meticulous about his chemistry. I was pretty lackadaisical but thought I could give him a good run for his money."
By 1971, Dr Middleton had found his Mount Mary vineyard site, 12 hectares on Coldstream West Road outside Lilydale, on the same north-east facing slope as St Hubert's.
From the first, he was besotted by classic French varieties: cabernet sauvignon and members of its family, pinot noir and chardonnay but never shiraz. After a fling with gewurztraminer, he replanted with sauvignon blanc and semillon. "He had been to France and he read extensively," his friend says. "And above all, he was a very bright guy, this fella. He had a vision and he followed it." The vision was to produce classically proportioned wines after the European model. His wines were well-structured but not consciously so. It's almost a cliche to say the French oak was integrated, the tannins were fine but forceful enough as a backbone to his classic "small fruits" (a French term often used by the doctor to describe the flavours of blackcurrants, mulberries, strawberries or cherries he so desired in his wines).
There was no excess.
He understood subtlety better than most Australian winemakers and applauded everything that was elegant and fine. In none of his wines is this tasted with as much natural charm as in his Bordeaux-inspired cabernet blend, first released as Cabernets. By the late 1980s the name was changed to Quintet, after Dr Middleton was warned that Cabernets was misleading labelling.
Quintet remains an outstanding legacy.
Leading British wine writer Hugh Johnson considered Dr Middleton a "perfectionist", making "suave" chardonnay, "vivid" pinot noir and Australia's "most Bordeaux-like claret". "All will age impeccably," he said. A wine writer at The Times in London, Jane MacQuitty, delighted in Dr Middleton's "idiosyncratic" style, recommending bottle ageing before his wines showed their best.
Mount Mary's quality, not to mention its ageing ability, made it an obvious choice for inclusion in the first classification of distinguished Australian wines drawn up by auction house Langtons in 1991. The Quintet (Cabernets as it was then) was originally listed as A1 quality. The only other wine to receive the same accolade was Penfolds Grange.
Today the category was been revised to Exceptional and Mount Mary Quintet continues to be one of only seven wines to receive the honour.
In September last year, Epicure saluted those wines that best define Australia, including Quintet in the list - which numbered only six - for its defining Australian attributes: complexity and elegance.
"I believe some of his wines are among the greatest wines ever made in Australia," says noted Melbourne wine man Doug Crittenden, who founded the Crittenden chain of wine stores. "In fact, I prefer drinking his wines any time over Grange."
Before he died, Dr Middleton ensured Mount Mary would continue. His son, David, a wildlife veterinarian, became manager. Rob Hall (who replaced long-time maker Mario Marson some years back) continues as winemaker with another generation of Middleton, grandson Nicholas Coulthard.
"Master of the Valley", July 11, 2006, The Age Epicure
About - Mount Mary Quintet Mount Mary commands a mythical status among wine collectors. Quintet is a Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Merlot and Petit Verdot blend. The vineyard faces due north and captures optimum sunlight during the growing season. New French Oak plays an underlying role in the style. Owing to vine age, the wine has become richer and more complex during the 1990s. It exhibits a purity of fruit, poise and structure found in few Australian Cabernets with cedar and blackcurrant aromas, fine-grained savoury tannins and superb flavour length. Quality is usually outstandingly good, although as a single vineyard wine, the vagaries of vintage can come into play. Quintet resonates an individuality of place and Dr John Middleton’s fastidious respect of the landscape. - Andrew Caillard MW
One of our first reds from what has since become known as the 'Bordeaux blend' of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc and malbec, which have since been joined by the remaining Bordeaux red grape, petite verdot. A fine, classically-structured claret style proven time and again in the cellar. The only Yarra Valley wine consistently made to this standard. - Jeremy Oliver
Superbly refined, elegant and intense Cabernets and usually outstanding and long-lived Pinot Noirs fully justify Mount Mary's exalted reputation. The Triolet blend is very good, more recent vintages of Chardonnay likewise.
(The Quintet was) First made in 1977; one of few wines in Australia to include in its makeup the five classic grape varieties of Bordeaux: cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc, malbec and petit verdot. This wine is Mount Mary¹s finest; at its best the ultimate expression of the style, at its least showing that the climate of the Yarra Valley can treat the later-ripening varieties with harshness. - James Halliday
Victorian Liquor Licence No. 32055124
WARNING: Under the Liquor Control Reform Act 1998 it is an offence
To supply alcohol to a person under the age of 18 years (Penalty exceeds $6,000)
For a person under the age of 18 years to purchase or receive liquor (Penalty exceeds $500)
Jeni Port marks the passing of a winemaking medico with a touch to rival Grange.
The original "boutique" winery, Mount Mary casts a giant shadow on the Australian wine-scape but all the while remains shadowy for many. We might have heard of the vineyard but few know of its exact location.
We might be aware that it makes some fine wine, might have even heard of the gloriously elegant Quintet. But how many of us have actually tasted it?
It was a winery you had to seek out, much like the man behind it, Dr John Middleton.
With his death on June 27, aged 82, Dr Middleton leaves many of us none the wiser. Still, others have been deeply enriched.
Anyone who has tasted the sublime Mount Mary 1990 Quintet or 1980 Cabernets wouldn't be human if they didn't feel a pang of sadness on hearing of his passing.
Dr Middleton - Dr John to his family - would have liked that because the bond he built up with lovers of his wine was cemented almost exclusively through experiencing the products.
He never sought media attention: there were no public tastings, definitely no winemaker dinners. He kept his own counsel, although he was generous with his time if his opinion was sought. However he remained famously sensitive to criticism for much of his winemaking life. What connection he had with the wine lover was largely through his annual newsletter, sent to those lucky enough to be on his mailing list.
To put the contribution of Dr Middleton and Mount Mary in perspective, you have to go back to the 1950s and '60s, when cows still roamed much of the Yarra Valley. The valley's golden era of winemaking had passed but was only a few years away from being revived by people such as doctors Middleton and McMahon, Guill de Pury and Bailey Carrodus.
A former meteorological officer in the airforce (colour blindness, reportedly, prevented him from becoming an officer), Dr Middleton studied medicine at Melbourne University with another young man who would play a seminal role in the rebirth of the Yarra Valley, Dr Peter McMahon. It was McMahon who persuaded the young Middleton (who, as Peter McMahon remembers, received first-class honours in obstetrics and gynaecology) to join him at his father's general practice in Lilydale.
Dr McMahon recalls that one of Dr Middleton's school friends lived at Great Western and was a friend of legendary Seppelt winemaker Colin Preece. "John got friendly with Colin Preece and he influenced him to a large degree," Dr McMahon says. A passion for wine was ignited.
John Middleton would get cuttings from Seppelt for an early vineyard at his home. Then came the next logical step. "We both started making wine in plastic bins and glass jar demijohns," Dr McMahon says.
"John was much more meticulous about all of this, much more meticulous about his chemistry. I was pretty lackadaisical but thought I could give him a good run for his money."
By 1971, Dr Middleton had found his Mount Mary vineyard site, 12 hectares on Coldstream West Road outside Lilydale, on the same north-east facing slope as St Hubert's.
From the first, he was besotted by classic French varieties: cabernet sauvignon and members of its family, pinot noir and chardonnay but never shiraz. After a fling with gewurztraminer, he replanted with sauvignon blanc and semillon. "He had been to France and he read extensively," his friend says. "And above all, he was a very bright guy, this fella. He had a vision and he followed it." The vision was to produce classically proportioned wines after the European model. His wines were well-structured but not consciously so. It's almost a cliche to say the French oak was integrated, the tannins were fine but forceful enough as a backbone to his classic "small fruits" (a French term often used by the doctor to describe the flavours of blackcurrants, mulberries, strawberries or cherries he so desired in his wines).
There was no excess.
He understood subtlety better than most Australian winemakers and applauded everything that was elegant and fine. In none of his wines is this tasted with as much natural charm as in his Bordeaux-inspired cabernet blend, first released as Cabernets. By the late 1980s the name was changed to Quintet, after Dr Middleton was warned that Cabernets was misleading labelling.
Quintet remains an outstanding legacy.
Leading British wine writer Hugh Johnson considered Dr Middleton a "perfectionist", making "suave" chardonnay, "vivid" pinot noir and Australia's "most Bordeaux-like claret". "All will age impeccably," he said. A wine writer at The Times in London, Jane MacQuitty, delighted in Dr Middleton's "idiosyncratic" style, recommending bottle ageing before his wines showed their best.
Mount Mary's quality, not to mention its ageing ability, made it an obvious choice for inclusion in the first classification of distinguished Australian wines drawn up by auction house Langtons in 1991. The Quintet (Cabernets as it was then) was originally listed as A1 quality. The only other wine to receive the same accolade was Penfolds Grange.
Today the category was been revised to Exceptional and Mount Mary Quintet continues to be one of only seven wines to receive the honour.
In September last year, Epicure saluted those wines that best define Australia, including Quintet in the list - which numbered only six - for its defining Australian attributes: complexity and elegance.
"I believe some of his wines are among the greatest wines ever made in Australia," says noted Melbourne wine man Doug Crittenden, who founded the Crittenden chain of wine stores. "In fact, I prefer drinking his wines any time over Grange."
Before he died, Dr Middleton ensured Mount Mary would continue. His son, David, a wildlife veterinarian, became manager. Rob Hall (who replaced long-time maker Mario Marson some years back) continues as winemaker with another generation of Middleton, grandson Nicholas Coulthard.
"Master of the Valley", July 11, 2006, The Age Epicure