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Reviews
"One of the finest estate wineries in Australia. Main Ridge Estate is a seriously good producer. Visiting and tasting from the barrels in Nat's tiny underground cellar is reminiscent of a Burgundy grower's "cave". This parallel works in describing his Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, which have a rare finesse and purity to them. They are delicate, restrained, long-living wines in a classic Burgundy style."
"My congratulations to Main Ridge on their superb Chardonnay being accorded Gold Star status with this edition - a tasting of 9 successive vintages of this exemplary wine demonstrated the extreme quality achieved by this label, with nary a hint of flatness or inelegance in even the oldest vintages. Well done that maker!"
"Of the tens of thousands of table wines made in Australia today, I have allocated the highest possible Five Star Rating to a mere twenty. These are the benchmarks, the Grand Cru standards – the wines against which all others can be measured." Chardonnay 2008
Bright straw green; as usual, a very complex and strongly textured chardonnay, reflecting 100% wild yeast, barrel fermentation, and 100 % mlf, all adding up to rich, creamy, nutty characters joining the nectarine and white peach fruit. Screwcap.
Consistently excellent and ageworthy, Main Ridge is one of the Mornington Peninsula’s flagship chardonnays. The 08 has a seamless nose and palate combining nectarine, melon,fig syrup and lightly buttery characters with classy, subtle oak in lovely harmony. It has a deliciously plump mouthfeel, with depth of flavour and tight structure.
Few pinot noirs and chardonnays in the world match the purity and finesse of those made by Nat and Rosalie White at Main Ridge Estate, Mornington Peninsula. They’re subtle, harmonious wines, built on deep, sweet, pure fruit flavours and barely revealing the hand of the winemaker. The rich but delicate 2008 chardonnay combines pristine cool- climate varietal flavour with the texture and complexity that could only come from full barrel fermentation and maturation – but the flavour components are inseparably combined. The equally glorious pinot 2008 starts with ripe varietal flavour; then as you sip the silky texture builds and the assertive, fine tannins declare it as a classic for long cellaring.
As always Nat White produces truly magnificent chardonnay—rich with loads of creamy, leesy texture and yet there’s a certain subtlety and restraint—it’s a yin and yang wine, perfectly balanced. Layers of citrus and lemon curd, fig paste and nectarines flood the mouth, spice notes, roundness partly from incisive oak integration; persistent, excellent length. An addictive drink. Chardonnay 2009
Main Ridge Chardonnay is out of the Mornington Peninsula mainstream, less obvious than many but a masterpiece of subtelty. The '09 has nectarine, herb and barley sugar aromas with creamy notes and subtle integration of oak. The palate is finely textured, seamless, beautifully harmonious , lingering and elegant. Chardonnay 2010 Main Ridge Estate’s finest chardonnay yet is finely balanced, stylishly focused and artfully complete. Its spicy fragrance of white peach, melon, mango and faintly smoky oak reveals waxy, clove and cinnamon-like complexity lifted by a heady floral fragrance. It’s supple and elegant, long and fluffy, with a generous but graceful presence of pure fruit, newish, nutty and creamy oak that finishes quite savoury, wiyh lingering notes of spice and meatiness. Jeremy Oliver The Australian Wine Annual 2013 96 points
Chris Shanahan The Canberra Times Feb. 2012
Nat and Rosalie White’s pioneering Mornington Peninsula vineyard consistently produces great chardonnay. These are not the Peninsula’s most powerful but their finesse puts them among the regions best. The 2010 says it all: gently fragrant nectarine and melon-rind characters; soft creamy, nutty and earthy elements; silky texture and satisfying richness; and a lingering, aromatic finish.These wines also age well, evolving mellow complexity while retaining their appetising freshness. Nat White crafts lovely wine. He has worked his special patch of Mornington Peninsula land at Main Ridge for more than three decades and the result is a wine of great texture and palate weight thanks to the perfect amalgamation of leesy character and creaminess alongside spicy wood, yet the oak is beautifully integrated. There’s opulence and complexity that‘s reigned in by fine natural acidity, citrus and stonefruit. Classy. Enjoy with roast chicken. Jane Faulkner The Saturday Age March 2012 Half Acre Pinot Noir 2007
Given that Nat and Rosalie White's Main Ridge Estate at Red Hill is one of the Peninsula's coolest and oldest sites ( it was established in 1975 ) , it’s a testament to the couple’s vision and persistence that their pinot noir ranks amongst the very best in Australia. With its purity of fruit, subtle spices and overall balance, this is classic, cool-climate pinot at its best.
A heady perfume of violets, red flowers and fresh dark berries, juicy plums and forest floor backed by complex suggestions of pepper,musky spices and suede leather.Sumptuous and forward, intensely concentrated and vibrant, it’s somehowalmost ethereal in the lightness of its impact on the palate, with a sappy, genuinely luscious but silky texture underpinned by smooth, fine grained tannins. It finishes with exemplary length and persistence.
A regular on Qantas 1st. Class, fruit in the raspberry / mulberry and dark cherry spectrum but no plum.
Deeper colour than usual; a totally delicious array of vibrant red fruits with fine-grained,spicy tannins adding appropriate authority; great balance and length.
....showed terrific promise tasted in barrel in Jan. 2008. Tastes of the finished wine in February and May this year (2009) confirm it as one of the finest ever made in Australia, in my opinion – a silky, succulent, fine – boned wine of rare dimension, with the capacity to age for many years. Half Acre Pinot Noir 2008
Along long lived vintage for Half Acre, this is a perfumed red-fruited wine which juxtaposes delicate red cherry and strawberry fruit with firm French oak. Fine grippy tannins are prominent, but the fruit ultimately wins out in the end. Half Acre Pinot Noir 2009
This is simply a magnificent pinot. Medium- deep purple- red in colour, it has intense, super- ripe, sweet black- fruit aromas with a floral high note. Its flavour is very intense and concentrated with masses of sweet fruit to taste, plus a subtle but persuasive line of fine grained tannins providing the backbone. Very full- on, powerful and incredibly long on the finish. Sheer magic from winemaker Nat White, an established master of the genre. Drink now to 10- plus years. 13.5% alcohol.
Nat and Rosalie White were among the first to plant vines on the Mornington Peninsula ( in 1975 ), their property being landlocked by gum trees, meaning everything had to be carried in. Pinot noir was not the first variety trialled, but soon came into focus. Excellent colour, a perfumed bouquet of gently spicy plums leads into a beautifully balanced and structured palate, the line and length impeccable, French oak does no more than support the clarion quality of the fruit. 13.5% alc, screwcap.
This splendidly complex, supple pinot noir from one of the region’s oldest vineyards is delicious now but cellaring will reveal even more depth and subtlety.
Sex and wine share a sense of anticipation driven by sensual cues. And if any wine can be sexy, surely it’s pinot noir. No other variety seduces so completely-the shimmering, limpid, crimson colour; the sweet, floral, musky, earthy, savoury aroma; and the juicy, slurpy, slippery, firm-but-tender flood of liquid on our palates. Indeed for the sufficiently temperate, there’s every hope of enjoying both in one night. Our Valentine’s choice is Main Ridge Half Acre 2009
The mature Main Ridge Mornington Peninsula vineyard provides great pinot noir. Floral and herb-garden threads introduce the '09, but a rich core of cherry and beetrooty pinot fruit, dressed in restrained, classy oak provides understated power. Complex flavour,satiny texture and soft tannins give it lovely flow across the palate.
I love everything about this wine: its perfume is a heady mix of fresh cherry fruit and there’s a hint of menthol and savoury cedary spice mixed with pine-forest coolness and aromatics- very seductive. Super-silky tannins, very fine, long, plush and medium bodied, with the oak just a support act. Legendary winemaker Nat White always teases out fineness in his pinot noirs and subsequently crafts some of the most beautiful wines in Australia. Half Acre Pinot Noir 2010The Half Acre of Main Ridge is just that, a tiny pocket producing one of the Peninsula’s most celebrated pinot noirs. 2010 will rank among the greats, slowly blossoming into something quite magnificent over a decade and perhaps two. This is a beguilingly beautiful and elegant pinot of pronounced structure and savoury complexity, layered with brambles, cherry kernel, dried herbs and woodspice over red cherry , strawberry and raspberry fruit. It takes air and time for its delightful rose petal perfume to emerge, and it will take years to fully uncurl. It has the spice to go the distance, thanks to a firm, upright tannin structure providing a fine grip to the finish. Tyson Stelzer Drink 2018 – 2025 95 Points Medium to full red colour, purple rim. Bright fruit aromas, some "brandies cherry", strawberry and a nice lick of toasty oak and a little chaff. Savory and smooth, medium- bodied and has good intensity and freshness. Lively in mouth. Nice meaty complexities. "Roasting pan" aromas. A really delicious Pinot with multi-faceted aromas and flavours.
Chris Shanahan The Canberra Times Feb.2012 5 stars
The Acre Pinot Noir 2009 Clear red-purple; 100% destemmed, 18 days on skins then 18 months in new, 1-and 2-year-old French barriques; a totally delicious mouthful of pinot, serenely silky and supple, with plum and cherry fruit in more or less equal proportions. Cries out “drink me tonight”. To 2016 Artfully balanced,very restrained and reserved, this faintly confectionary young pinot is likely to build depth and structure with time. Its sweet bouquet of raspberries, red cherries, berries and fresh floral notes knits tightly with cedar/vanilla oak, revealing faintly meaty notes. It’s round and juicy, with a luscious, sweetly-fruited core of red fruits finely integrated with supple tannins and finished with fresh, soft acids and lingering hints of fennel.
The Acre Pinot Noir 2010
Sweet cherry fruit, plum confiture and seductive Asian spice accent on the bouquet; the palate is soft, supple and fine- boned, with a dominant soft side belying the undercurrent of structure that is sure to see this wine evolve with grace.
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