2012 Mount Mary Chardonnay
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Tasting notes
One of the oldest wines in this Australian Chardonnay tasting and also one of only three wines sealed under cork. TA 7 g/l, pH 3.27. There's all the glorious harmony of the 2017 plus a slightly deeper and more savoury character. Powerful. The contrast between richness and acidity more obvious than in the 2017 but still harmonious and extremely youthful. (JH)
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Jancis Robinson MW
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
Tasted with Sam Middleton at the winery in August 2023. "I was worried about how lean this wine was when I made it," says Sam Middleton. But looking at this 2012 Chardonnay here today, I can confirm that that "leanness" on release is holding the wine in brilliant stead. This is tight and spicy, and the acid that tethers the fruit to a pert rail of evolution is doing a wonderful job of keeping it "fresh." The fruit however, moves in a richer, more splayed fashion. It offers notes of cracked toffee, fresh curry leaf, yellow salted peach, red apple skin, a hint of custard powder, sea salt, nashi pear (actually pear torte). It's tightening up and composing/solidifying in the glass. It's getting better. Anyway, this is a sensational example of Chardonnay. A word of advice to anyone with these wines in the cellar currently: opening one to see how they are faring now will only yield joy. Go well. 13.5% alcohol, sealed under Diam.
It was a joy to experience this mature chardonnay alongside the most recent release. A similar, long ripening window has produced a beguiling, mid-weighted wine of thrilling complexity, not dissimilar to a great Meursault. Toasted hazelnut, truffle, cinnamon and grilled stone fruits. There is no hurry to finish this vintage, should you be fortunate enough to be holding on to any. Drink or hold.