THE PRODUCER
Mount Pleasant is one of Australia’s most storied wine estates, founded on the
vision of Maurice O’Shea—widely regarded as a pioneer of modern Australian
winemaking. Nestled in the lower Hunter Valley, the original Old Hill vineyard
was planted in 1880 and became the heart of Mount Pleasant when O’Shea acquired
it in 1921. Trained in France at Montpellier, O’Shea brought European finesse
and a deep understanding of terroir to the rugged soils of New South Wales,
crafting table wines of remarkable subtlety and longevity at a time when
fortified styles dominated the market.

His partnership with the McWilliam family from the 1930s allowed him to expand
his vineyard holdings, notably adding the Rosehill and Lovedale sites - now
legendary for Shiraz and Semillon respectively. Despite rudimentary equipment
and a fiercely hot climate, O’Shea produced wines of breathtaking elegance,
often in tiny quantities, many of which have aged gracefully for decades and
still serve as benchmarks.

Today, Mount Pleasant is proudly independent once more and continues to honour
O’Shea’s legacy by sourcing fruit from heritage vineyards he originally planted.
The winemaking philosophy remains true to its roots: minimal intervention, a
deep respect for site, and a focus on individual vineyard expression. These are
wines shaped by history, but with a renewed clarity and purpose, bridging the
past with the present in every bottle.

THE WINE
Mount Pleasant Lovedale Single Vineyard Semillon is one of Australia’s most
iconic white wines, first produced in 1950 from a vineyard selected and planted
by Maurice O’Shea in 1946. Located on the sandy alluvial soils of the Lovedale
site in the lower Hunter Valley, this vineyard produces fruit of exceptional
purity and balance. The wine is crafted with minimal intervention:
hand-harvested, gently pressed, and fermented cool in stainless steel to
preserve the crystalline citrus and floral aromatics that define the style. No
oak is used, and the wine is bottled early to lock in freshness. It is then
cellared at the winery and released with significant bottle age - typically six
or more years - revealing the wine’s extraordinary capacity for development.
With time, its taut acidity and lime-driven core give way to layers of toast,
lanolin, and preserved lemon, making Lovedale Semillon a benchmark for
age-worthy, world-class Australian white wine.

INFORMATION
Type:WhiteVintage:2017Country:Australia
Region:New South WalesSub region:Hunter ValleyGrape:100% SemillonStyle:Buttery &
ComplexSweetness:DryABV:11%Drinking window:2023 - 2040Size:750mlFood match:
Shellfish, crab and lobster


CRITICS SCORES
We choose our wines based on a range of criteria(seehow we choose our wines)of
which critic scores is justone. Rather than simply highlight the best score to
promote a wine, our average critic score is calculated from the scores provided
by several respected wine critics, who we follow for specific regions. They do
not represent all critic scores and, wherever possible, we try and give more
weight to more recent reviews. Where appropriate we consider market-based scores
like Global Wine Score or Wine Searcher Average scores.

As a rule, we look to offer wines that achieve a92/100average critic score or
better and frankly a lot of very good wines simply don’t make the cut. As a
high-end provider we want to reflect that positioning in the quality of wines we
offer. Such wines are only a tiny fraction of those generally on offer in the
market. We believe that an average score is a more conservative and
representative approach, but it is still subjective and only offered as a guide
to our customers, who will (and should) do their own research. We will add
individual critic scores to our website in the future.