1880
English immigrant Charles King plants the Old Hill Vineyard on rich, volcanic soil in the Parish of Pokolbin, at the southern end of the Hunter Valley
1897
Mount Pleasant founder and legendary winemaker Maurice O’Shea is born
1914
Maurice O’Shea studies viticulture and oenology, before lecturing at France’s Montpellier University
1921
Aged 24, Maurice O’Shea persuades his widowed mother Leontine to purchase the King family’s 16.3ha Hunter Valley property and two adjoining parcels of land, on which the Old Paddock Vineyard is planted. O’Shea names the property Mount Pleasant
1932
The McWilliam family, already famous for their fortified wines, purchase a half share of Mount Pleasant Estate and encourage Maurice O’Shea to continue with his winemaking
1941
The McWilliam family acquire the remaining share of Mount Pleasant Estate. Maurice O’Shea, who was retained as Chief Winemaker and Manager, went on to make some of Australia’s greatest wines
1946
Maurice O'Shea plants the Lovedale and Rosehill vineyards
1956
Maurice O’Shea dies at age 59. Brian Walsh is appointed Mount Pleasant Chief Winemaker and Manager
1967
The first wine in the style of the now famous Mount Pleasant Elizabeth Semillon is made
1978
Phil Ryan is appointed Mount Pleasant Chief Winemaker
1990
McWilliam’s inaugurates the prestigious Maurice O’Shea Award as a tribute to O’Shea’s remarkable innovation and foresight
2004
The 2000 vintage of Mount Pleasant Maurice O’Shea Shiraz outscores Penfolds Grange and Henschke Hill of Grace to be the highest rated Shiraz in the 2005 edition of James Halliday’s Australian Wine Companion
2005
Wine Hunter by Campbell Mattinson, a book which chronicles the life of Maurice O’Shea and would go on to receive much acclaim, is released
2009
Phil Ryan, named a Living Legend of the Hunter Valley.
2013
Jim Chatto is appointed Chief Winemaker. Jim becomes the fourth Chief Winemaker of Mount Pleasant Wines.
2017
Mount Pleasant was honoured to be named Winery of the Year in the 2017 Halliday Wine Companion.
That same year, Halliday scored the 2014 Maurice O'Shea 99 Points.
2018
Adrian Sparks is appointed as only the 5th Mount Pleasant Chief Winemaker since Maurice O'Shea.
Mount Pleasant's 2017 1880 Vines Old Hill Shiraz is awarded 'Best Wine in Show' at the Hunter Valley Wine Show
Mount Pleasant's 2017 Old Paddock & Old Hill is awarded the coveted title of 'NSW Wine of the Year' at the NSW Wine Awards
2019
Adrian Sparks named 2019 Hunter Valley Winemaker of the Year at the Hunter Valley Wine Industry Gala.
Mount Pleasant's 2018 Rosehill Shiraz is named 'Best Wine in Show' at the Hunter Valley Wine Show
Mount Pleasant's 2018 Mountain D 'Full Bodied Dry Red' is named 'NSW Wine of the Year' at the NSW Wine Awards
2020
A disastrous bushfire season leads to the decision that Mount Pleasant will not produce a 2020 Vintage.
Weeks of continuous smoke haze from surrounding fires resulted in one of the lowest yielding vintages on record for the Hunter Valley.
2020 also marked the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic in Australia.
2021
Mount Pleasant celebrates 100 Years since Leontine O'Shea purchased the Pokolbin property and Maurice O'Shea began making wine in the Hunter Valley using Shiraz from Charles King's Old Hill Vineyard, planted in 1880.
The 2018 Maurice O'Shea Shiraz receives a score of 99 Points from esteemed wine critic James Halliday
