Huon Hooke

The Real Review 98 Points

Deep, dark purple-red and rich appearance in the glass. There are brooding aromas of dried herbs and nori, blackberry and cedar, blueberry and leaf tobacco as well, while the palate is medium-full bodied and flows with effortless elegance and harmony to a lingering farewell. Finishes with violets and red fruits rather than black. A seriously stylish red.

Philip Rich

Halliday Wine Companion 97 Points

47/28/15/6/4% cabernet sauvignon/merlot/cabernet franc/petit verdot/malbec. In a hark back to cooler years, this was picked after the rain at the start of April. Brightly coloured, the result is a gorgeous wine; perfumed and beguiling with pure, blackcurrant fruit aromas, graphite, violets and subtle, oak-derived cedar and pencil shavings. The palate is classically medium bodied with lovely persistence, the fruit supported by balanced, fine-grained tannins and equally fine acidity. Like all great Mount Mary Quintets this will age gracefully over the next two decades but, given a good decant, is also balanced an approachable enough to enjoy in its youth.

Nick Ryan

The Weekend Australian 99 Points

Top 100 Wines of 2025

Mount Mary’s quietly considered Quintet is our most eloquent rebuttal to misguided accusations that Australian wine is all bombast and bluster. Poise can be an overused term in wine, but here it’s an article of faith. A blend without a single stich or seam. Everything in its place, and that place determined by what surrounds it. Polished red and blackcurrant fruit, dried violets and rubbed rosemary, all exquisitely presented. It’s perfectly pitched and achingly graceful, its tannins a detailed tapestry only Bayeux could match. Always great, now better than ever, this 2023 is one of the best Australian wines of the century so far.

Ryan Montgomery

James Suckling 98 Points

Black-fruited and perfumed, with aromas of blackcurrants, violets, licorice, cassia bark, graphite, blueberry compote, pomegranates, tobacco, mahogany, lead pencil shavings and balsamic strawberries. The palate is mid-weighted, with finely integrated tannins and balanced acidity leading into a textural, rounded and seamless mouthfeel. There’s an excellent balance of fruit, florals, earth and herbs, anchored by a mineral core. This Bordeaux blend with New World freshness is built for the ages, yet offers plenty of early drinking appeal. What a wine. Drink or hold.

Gary Walsh

The Wine Front 95 Points

This is a crisper, more acid than tannin based vintage, or at least that’s my reading. Blueberry, blackcurrant, nutmeg, peanuts and tilled earth, pencil and violet perfume, with a smoky pipe tobacco and a dried herb top note, some liquorice richness is there too, which is kind of surprising! There’s a coolness to this wine, though it’s still all blackcurrant and black olive, very finely etched with a bright cranberry and raspberry finish of excellent length. Tight and slightly tangy, and I reckon it will do so well with bottle age. I like the graphite/pencil thing on the finish very much, and the dried violet that carries a lingering fragrance as it closes. Gee, I love the perfume that this wine has, though tannin has a little more scratchiness to it than is typical. I’m thinking about this wine more than is usual, which is a good sign. In short, one of the more aromatic releases, though lesser in tannin quality. Still, it’s a beautiful thing.

Erin Larkin

The Wine Advocate 97 Points

The 2023 Quintet is, like every other Quintet I've tasted in my life, pure joy. The wine is famous for its fine frame and floral aromatics, its ability to age what feels interminably and its unfettered expression of this corner of the Yarra Valley—Coldstream. While the cooler season of 2023 has shaped some of the elements of the wine, it remains true to its site and leaves a gentle cedar note trail through the memory. It has more pomegranate and cherry than cassis or blackberry, along with notes of violets, bay leaf and star anise even. It is a beautiful wine, one of my favorite Cabernets in this country. 13.5% alcohol, sealed under Diam cork.