Cabernet Sauvignon 44%, Merlot 30%, Cabernet Franc 18%, Malbec 4%, Petit Verdot 4%. As a little story, I’ll tell you that the winemaker from Te Mata Estate (Phil Brodie) came around to our house for tea the other month, and I nipped down to the cellar and opened an 18 Coleraine alongside an 18 Mount Mary Quintet, to compare and contrast. The wines very similar in style, in a way, and both equally good. No losers that night, only winners. We also opened a fair few top shelf Bordeaux, and yet, my favourite wines were the Quintet and Coleraine by a margin. So, there you have it.

Blackcurrant, cherry, violet and cedar, rolling tobacco, aniseed and spice. Medium-bodied, gentle flow of small berried fruit, perhaps some ripe and sappy tomato flavours in the mix, and while maybe not quite as concentrated in the mid-palate, and less tannic than some prior vintages, it still lays on the charm and drinks beautifully. Light dusty tannin runs on a long finish. Graceful, and maybe more like a Quintet from days or yore? Fine wine. Distinctive and very good.