WINE TALKS: Mount Pleasant

LETTING THE MOUNT PLEASANT VINEYARDS SING

Mount Pleasant’s Chief Winemaker Adrian Sparks adopts a ‘less is more’ attitude to his winemaking, as he creates wines that give consumers a true taste of the Hunter Valley.

Photo Credit: Chris Elfes

The grapes for the 2019 vintage are picked and the wines are developing now and for the third year in a row Mount Pleasant Chief Winemaker Adrian Sparks is very excited about the vintage. Both 2017 and 2018 offered excellent wines and Sparks is confident that it will be a similar story for the 2019 vintage.

One of the great things for Sparks is that these high quality vintages mean he can do exactly what he wants with the wines – and that is as little as possible.

“Mount Pleasant is the Hunter Valley,” Sparks told National Liquor News. “We want to make wines that fully represent everything that is the Hunter. As part of this and our premiumisation story, since 2018 we have not taken fruit from any other region or any other grower. So we are really backing the Hunter Valley region because that is what we are.” Mount Pleasant is hitting a number of key wine trends offering high quality wines throughout the range from Elizabeth through to Lovedale with Semillon and from Philip through to the Maurice O’Shea for Shiraz. One of the big trends is the growth in popularity of wines in the $15-$25 bracket as premiumisation hits the wine category. Consumers are prepared to pay that little bit more for their wines, but are expecting high quality returns and Sparks says both the Elizabeth Semillon and Philip Shiraz are perfect wines for this trend as they represent extremely good value.

Photo Credit: Chris Elfes

“They both have a long history of being truly Hunter Valley,” Sparks said. “The Elizabeth is internationally recognised and is one of the core Semillons of the Hunter Valley. It’s all off the Lovedale vineyard so it has got great pedigree and people can back its ability to age.”

In terms of his winemaking at Mount Pleasant, Sparks says he simply wants the amazing fruit that is grown in some of the premium spots in the Hunter to really shine through.

“Less is more,” Sparks said. “It’s about picking fruit at the right time. As the grapes ripen the green goes away and it goes into this citrus character and we just pick it then. Then it’s low or no fining, good clean ferment, neutral yeast strain and into bottle. It’s more about showcasing the vineyard and the fruit rather than trying to put a winemaking stamp on it.

“Mount Pleasant is all about the vineyard. The winemakers are respectful of the fact that it is the vineyard that makes our wines; it has such legacy and history.”

It’s the same story for the different Shiraz wines that Sparks makes for Mount Pleasant, with minimal interference and striving to let the amazing fruit be pivotal to the winemaking ethos.

Photo Credit: Chris Elfes

“You’re getting the best of both of our estates with the Philip Shiraz. You get the darker fruit spectrum off the Estate and lighter more red aromatic spectrum from Rosehill. Philip has always been a blend of those two vineyards and it really is a truly Hunter Valley wine, because it shows what we believe the Hunter Valley represents in that single season.”

The winemaking behind Philip is also focused on letting consumers experience everything about the Hunter for that year. The oak has been dropped by over two-thirds over the last five years and for Sparks it is about highlighting the Hunter Valley style of mediumbodied, fruit-driven, drinkable wines.

Photo Credit: Chris Elfes

One of the keys for Sparks that helps Mount Pleasant is the sites that were chosen and then planted in the late 1800s and early 1900s. “Maurice O’Shea knew what he was doing, he had the choice of where to plant in the Hunter and he got it spot on. It’s no coincidence; they are perfectly planted, out of the afternoon sun, out of the wind, the right orientation and well looked after. The Old Hill looks after itself every year, it’s a freak vineyard, it has this incredible strength to it.”

With ‘craft’ going from strength to strength in the beer and spirit categories, it seems strange that the trend hasn’t converted into wine. But with Mount Pleasant’s mantra of letting the region shine in its wine, about doing what’s right in the vineyard over making commercial decisions and backing the Hunter Valley with high quality fruit and a less is more style, Mount Pleasant is craft, it is premium. And if you want the Hunter Valley in a glass – it is Mount Pleasant.