How Jim Chatto made Mount Pleasant the nation’s finest winery

How Jim Chatto made Mount Pleasant the nation’s finest winery.

It's drawing a long bow to suggest that Mount Pleasant's chief winemaker, Jim Chatto, simply slipped into the shoes worn by Maurice O'Shea, who arrived at Mount Pleasant (as he named it) in 1921. But it is beyond argument that Chatto has peered through the curtains of time to understand why and how O'Shea became one of Australia's most revered winemakers of the 20th century.

It is true Chatto's timing was serendipitous.

He became chief winemaker in 2013, and was perfectly positioned to take full advantage of the 2014 vintage, the greatest in the Hunter Valley since 1965. He had worked in the Hunter from 1994 to 2008 (with a brief detour via Tasmania, returning in 2001), and had become a senior wine show judge in double-quick time.

In 1986 McWilliam's Mount Pleasant (as it was then called) made only three red wines: Philip Shiraz, Rosehill Shiraz and Old Paddock & Old Hill Shiraz. But O'Shea had made an ever-shifting series of red wines that were small quantities of single block or single vineyard wines, shaped by the circumstances of each vintage.

In 2014 Mount Pleasant made 14 red wines (all estate-grown) and three semillons, the latter all estate-grown from the Lovedale Vineyard.

Pinot noir and montils (a rare white variety) were used with three wines. The other 11 are all shiraz, some with names borrowed directly from Maurice O'Shea, for example Mountain C Light Bodied Dry Red, others reflecting the precision of the source, such as 1880 Vines Old Hill Shiraz and 1921 Vines Old Paddock Shiraz. Thus five of the 11 came from specific rows of the Rosehill Vineyard.

The awesome consistency and quality of the wines meant that the other 1300 wineries in my 2017 Wine Companion were left floundering in Mount Pleasant's wake when it was named Winery of the Year. How long before another winery wins the title so comprehensively is anyone's guess.

2014 MOUNT PLEASANT 1880 VINES OLD HILL VINEYARD HUNTER VALLEY SHIRAZ

From the oldest vines in the Block range, and the lightest colour; classic Hunter Valley shiraz with savoury/earthy/spicy undertones to the medium bodied blue and black fruits of the palate, contributing as much to the structure and texture of the wine as to the flavour. 14% alc, screw cap

97 points, drink to 2054, $135

2014 Mount Pleasant 1946 Vines Rosehill Vineyard Hunter Valley Shiraz

Matured in large-format French oak (25% new) for 15 months. The juicy red fruits of the bouquet set the scene for the palate, silky and suave; wonderful length and persistence. 14% alc, screw cap

97 points, drink to 2049, $135

2014 Mount Pleasant 1965 Vines Rosehill Vineyard Hunter Valley Shiraz

Matured in large format oak (30% new) for 15 months. The impact of this wine is immediate. Very different to the high-strung elegance of most of its siblings; it's not the tannins but the intensity and depth of the dark fruits. It will take longer than its siblings to reach its peak 20-30 years hence, and go on from there. 14% alc, screw cap

96 points, drink to 2054, $135