2003 Mount Mary Quintet Red Blend 750ml

 Australia's premier cool climate Cabernet. It was John Middleton's dream to create such a wine and purchased the Mount Mary property in the Yarra Valley in 1971 to persue this dream. Quintet is his dream realised and is a blend of the classic Bordeaux varieties of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec.

Quintet is a classically proportioned style based on five classic Bordeaux varieties; Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Merlot and Petit Verdot. The wine exhibits a purity of fruit, poise, elegance and structure found in few Australian Cabernets with cedar and blackcurrant "small fruit" aromas, fine-grained savoury tannins, superb vinosity and flavour length. Naturally balanced, well-concentrated and classically proportioned, the wine has a great reputation for longevity.

The grapes are hand harvested, lightly crushed, totally destemmed, fermented in both open and closed fermenters with careful temperature control and frequent pumping over. Malolactic fermentation takes place once primary fermentation is completed. After the lees have settled, the wine is de-vatted to 30% new French oak barriques and 70% large format oak casks in its first year. In its second year, the wine is racked into seasoned two to six-year-old barriques for 10 months.