Mount Pleasant Elizabeth Aged Semillon – Fresh lemon and lime are harmoniously integrated with honey toast, fresh hay, vanilla and lanolin notes from bottle age. The palate is rich in flavour, complex and textural while retaining the brilliant acidity present in its youth. Released after five years, as is tradition for Mount Pleasant, this wine will continue to deliver more complex aromas and flavours for the next 15 years.
A combination of machine and hand harvesting was carried out in the early morning to ensure the fruit arrived cool. The grapes were transported, destemmed and gently pressed, with only 500 litres per tonne of the finest free-run juice retained. After settling and racking, the juice was inoculated for a clean, cold 14-day fermentation. The wine was then chilled, fined and bottled, with the bottles returned to the winery for a five year cellar maturation prior to release.
Inspired by the first visit of a reigning monarch to Australia in 1954, Mount Pleasant Elizabeth Aged Semillon is the embodiment of the synergy achieved by combining the noble grape variety Semillon and the Hunter Valley. Renowned for its unique ability to be enjoyed when fresh and admired when allowed to age gracefully, McWilliam’s celebrates both styles through Elizabeth. Having been placed in the Mount Pleasant cellars for extended bottle age, this small parcel of Semillon now enjoys the benefits gained from patience.
Mount Pleasant was founded in 1921 by legendary winemaker Maurice O’Shea, widely recognised as the father of modern Australian winemaking. According to James Halliday, who named Mount Pleasant third in the inaugural 100 Top Wineries of Australia in 2023, there’s an argument to say it is Australia’s most important wine estate. It’s certainly ground zero of fine Australian table wine, thanks to the legendary exploits of Maurice O’Shea. But successive winemakers, from Phil Ryan to Jim Chatto to Adrian Sparks, have inched the wines of this estate to higher levels, to the point where now a whole series of its current-release wines are classics in the making.
For more information on the winery go the McWilliams website
To see our full range of McWilliams wines go to our dedicated McWilliams web page
A truly stupendous and different wine from a 5 star winery.
£27.00 a bottle
4 in stock
McWilliam’s Family Winemakers
“Few have helped shape the evolution of the Australian wine industry like McWilliam’s Wines. From humble beginnings on the outskirts of Corowa in 1877, the philosophy of putting quality of fruit first has ensured that McWilliam’s continues to be one of Australia’s most popular, respected and iconic wineries.
We believe that good wines are made by people, not corporations. With six consecutive generations of winemakers and over 135 years of experience, the wines we make are more than just quality, award-winning wines. They are wines that tell the story of our family and a century long love affair with winemaking. “
McWilliam’s Family Winemakers
The Hunter Region is the premium wine region of New South Wales and one of Australia’s most well-known, and historically important wine regions. Distinctive styles of Semillon, Chardonnay and Shiraz are the hallmark of this region. James Busby the man credited with bringing the vine to Australia was associated with the Hunter Valley through his brother-in-law William Kelman. Kelman is thought to be the first to plant vines in the Hunter. George Wyndham planted grapes in 1832. Penfolds bought the property in 1904 naming it Wyndham Estate. Dr Henry Lindeman purchased land around Raymond Terrace in the 1830s. So too did James King whose legacy passed onto Maurice O’Shea who came to the forefront of Hunter Valley winemaking in the 1920s. The area fell into depression for many years, but gradually made a comeback in the early 1960s. Today the region is booming. The climate is regarded as warm to hot. The main wine styles: White – Semillon (regarded as one Australia’s greatest and unique wines, with great aging potential), Chardonnay; Red – Shiraz.
A great varietal from Australia, certainly one to experience. The Hunter Valley is premier region for this grape, especially it’s potential to age gracefully – when young expect unique minerally, lemony, crisp style, and with age develop into nutty, honeyed wine with complexity and depth.
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