The Mount Mary Masterclass
13 Mount Mary Wines Including:
4 Triolet (2015,2020,2021,2022)
3 Chardonnay (2019,2021,2022)
1 Pinot Noir (2021)
4 Quintet (2014,2017,2021,2022)
Hosted by the ‘Wine Animal’ Co-Founder Brenden Robnik
With Brenden’s down-to-earth style and genuine love for wine, he continues to win hearts and make waves throughout the wine industry.
From his tailored experiences that celebrate Australia’s wine culture to with his ever growing social media presence, Brenden has broken the mould and is connecting people to the world of wine!
Lunch: 12-3pm, 13 Wines & 5 Courses $330
Masterclass: 3:30-6pm, 13 Wines with Nibbles $195
Saturday October 26th
Meet Brenden
My name is Brenden (Brenno). I work as a carpenter during the day, and by night (and any other waking moment), I become a Wine Animal. My journey into wine began around the age of 30, but it didn't truly become a passionate pursuit until I was around 33. Wine evolved into an all-consuming hobby, and as my passion grew, I saw an opportunity to turn it into a legitimate business.
The Critics on Mount Mary
On the Triolet…
A unique and beautiful Australian… Slippery, chalky textured, tightly wound and very long, this is going to be a great and long-lived wine. In a league of its own.
98 Points Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion
Drinking this is an emotional experience, pushing the exhilaration meter up a notch.
98 Points Ned Godwin, jamessuckling.
Clean, refreshing finish. A delicious wine, and very more-ish
96 Points Huon Hooke, The Real Review
On the Chardonnay…
Chardonnay is classy, great, powerful, detailed and full… This is a remarkable wine, one that I enthusiastically recommend
96 Points Erin Larkin, The Wine Advocate
Initially reticent, before becoming starkly glorious!
96 Points Ned Godwin MW, Decanter
On the Pinot…
A brilliant, non-mainstream Yarra Valley pinot that's been built to go the distance.
98 Points Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion
It has a super svelte, streamlined shape. The tannins are gently chewy and persist through the finish. This is a lovely wine.
96 Points Erin Larkin, The Wine Advocate
…that sweet cherry scent seldom found in pinot outside of great Burgundy. A stunning pinot
96 Points Ned Godwin MW, Decanter
On the Quintet…
Masterful stuff. Lovely now, but cellar it for best rewards
96 Points Huon Hooke, The Real Review
An elegant, concentrated, pure and structured wine that will become even more special with time…
A magnificent wine that will provide enormous enjoyment over the next two decades.
98 Points Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion
Fine structure and very long carry. Tannins are positive but fine and subtle. The balance is outstanding. A beautiful wine
96 Points Huon Hooke, The Real Review
The Wine list
Sourdough & olives
1st Course
Mount Mary Triolet 2015
65% sauvignon blanc, 21% semillon, 14% muscadelle, fermented separately in used oak, matured for 11 months with lees stirring. This is an uncommonly rich Triolet at this early stage, but that is all to the good, for it will mature majestically as all the vintages that preceded it have done.
96 Points James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion (June 2021)
Mount Mary Triolet 2020
Pungent aromas of guava and other tropical fruits with a backdrop of spicy oak, resulting in a most expressive nose. The wine is lean and highly tensioned in the mouth, with vibrant acidity and high energy, and lots of refreshing properties. It's more sauvignon blanc-varietal than usual. The balance is dry and crisp; a wine that calls for vegetable dishes and cold seafoods.
95 Points Huon Hooke, The Real Review (October 2022)
Mount Mary Triolet 2021
Triolet is a gently mid-weighted wine of refined detail and exquisite restraint, so much so that those who seek obvious fruit fail to understand it. It is a wine that ages with prowess, too. Indeed, the finest aged white I have experienced across the New World was older Triolet. Lanolin, lemon drop, quince and nettle push long across a meld of effusive energy and extract. The oak, subtly compressing the fray into a bone of tension. Excellent finish. Drinking this is an emotional experience, pushing the exhilaration meter up a notch.
98 Points Ned Godwin, jamessuckling.com (July 2023)
Mount Mary Triolet 2022
A 66/24/10% blend of sauvignon blanc/semillon/muscadelle. Crushed and destemmed with 20% whole bunches in the press. Barrel fermented and matured for 11 months in seasoned barriques; 400 dozen. A full, bright green gold. Aromas of Meyer lemon, orchard fruits, a little marjoram and a subtle lanolin note. A little richer on the palate than the equally good '21. Chalky textured, wonderfully balanced and long. A unique and beautiful Australian wine that's approachable now but with the backbone and structure to age superbly too.
98 Points Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion (August 2024)
Abrolhos half shell scallops, nori, tobiko
2nd Course
Mount Mary Chardonnay 2020
Four clones, hand picked, 20% whole-bunch pressed, the balance crushed and destemmed. Matured in French oak (30% new) for 11 months. Typically refined and elegant, but isn't stand-offish. The Yarra Valley's calling card of chardonnay is its extreme length, built around natural acidity and citrus zest. Oak is part of the upbringing, but discreet, and the wine has a very long plateau ahead.
97 Points James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion (March 2022)
Mount Mary Chardonnay 2021, Our Price $
The 2021 Chardonnay is a special wine, one that speaks clearly of the Yarra Valley but one that also transcends local bounds and is a great wine of the world. Complex, seamless, spicy and creamy, the wine has textural complexity to match with the diverse flavor spectrum. It gets better as it ages, and I truly believe it will remain one of the great Australian Chardonnays for years to come. This is a remarkable wine, one that I enthusiastically recommend. 13.2% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.
97+ Points Erin Larkin, the Wine Advocate (July 2024)
Mount Mary Chardonnay 2022, Our Price $
Hand picked, 20% whole-bunch pressed, the balance crushed and destemmed. Matured in French puncheons and barriques (30% new) for 11 months. Interestingly, Mount Mary offers their mailing customers the choice of either Diam 30 or screwcap. A very bright green gold. Smells super with its aromas of perfectly ripened white nectarines, orange blossom and some complex matchstick and oyster shell notes. Powerful and structured on the palate, finishing saline and long. A great and long-lived Mount Mary chardonnay in the making.
97 Points Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion (August 2024)
Asparagus, sambal butter
3rd Course
Marli Russell 2021
All Mount Mary estate fruit, 50/50% marsanne/roussanne, barrel fermented in 10% new barriques. In these well-priced Marli Russel wines, Mount Mary is dabbling in varieties that may be better suited to the region 30 years from now. This exhibits notes of citrus, orange blossom and a little acacia honey. Generous and mouth-filling yet with some of the restraint Mount Mary is noted for, this was designed to drink and enjoy when young.
92 Points Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion (March 2023)
Marli Russell 2022
All Mount Mary estate fruit: 40/40/20% marsanne/roussanne/clairette, barrel fermented in 10% new barriques. Finer than the 2021 with its aromas of orchard fruits, Granny Smith apples and a little honey. Textured, flavoursome and very nicely balanced, finishing with a refreshing, gentle, pithy finale. Long. Lovely.
95 Points Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion (July 2024)
Pinot Noir 2021
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.
97 Points Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion (July 2023)
Duck confit, baby cos, fetta, candied walnuts
4th Course
Mount Mary Quintet 2014
While there wasn't a lot of wine made in the Yarra Valley in '14 (wind and rain during flowering), some wine of very high quality was made - witness this. Mount Mary has shown over the decades that Quintet develops superbly, and this complex dark berry-flavoured Bordeaux blend will do just that.
97 Points James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion (June 2021)
Mount Mary Quintet 2017
…It is buoyant and supple and speaks eloquently of raspberry seed, black cherry, red apple skins, blond tobacco, hints of sweet roasted meats (distant wafts only), enoki mushroom and red miso; the experience is inchoate and thrilling in equal measure. In isolation, perhaps, it may be easy to assume that the wine, given its age versus purity quotient, is simple. But given what we know about the capacity for aging carried by this vineyard/cuvée, I'd say you were grievously mistaken to judge it in that manner. This is a sleeper wine and one that hasn't even started to show us what it is capable of. It's a superstar. 13% alcohol, sealed under natural cork.
97+ Points Erin Larkin, the Wine Advocate (September 2023)
Mount Mary Quintet 2021
Among the ten vintage flight that I was privy to, this is arguably the finest of them all, sitting pretty alongside its rival, the stunning 2015. Medium-bodied, taut and understated, as the Quintet always is. Graphite, pencil lead, blood plum and a fleck of red and black currant. The wine's signature, a kit of gorgeous, sinuous tannins that reflect the later picking windows of more recent years. This could easily be nudged up a point. Best after 2028.
98 Points Ned Godwin, jamessuckling.com (July 2023)
Mount Mary Quintet 2022
Halliday Cabernet & Blend of the Year 2025
Cabernet and Blends of the Year. A blend of 47/28/15/6/4% cabernet sauvignon/merlot/cabernet franc/petit verdot/malbec. Fermented with whole berries and at different temperatures, depending on the variety. All varieties are matured in both barriques and 1600L foudres for 12 months then racked into barriques (35% new) for another 10 months before blending and bottling. A deep, bright, crimson ruby. Brooding with classic dark cherries, blackcurrant, iodine, violets and fresh lead pencil shavings. Saturates the palate without being remotely heavy. The tannins are muscular, very persistent and in perfect harmony with the fruit. A magnificent wine that will provide enormous enjoyment over the next two decades.
98 Points Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion (August 2024)
Maffra cheddar, crostini, quince
Too finish…