Kooyong Estate Chardonnay 2024
Lively and concentrated, with lime and citrus blossom aromas in the glass, as well as attractive flinty hints. It continues with flavours of peach, vanilla and nougat in the mouth with a well-balanced, vibrant acidity.
The Kooyong vineyards are located on the Mornington Peninsula at Tuerong, on Miocene sedimentary soils. The fruit for this wine is sourced from the Faultline and Farrago blocks.
The wine offers an overall expression of the Kooyong vineyard, with parcels of fruit from various soils and mesoclimates blended together to create the Estate label.
The fruit was gently whole-bunch pressed directly into a mixture of French oak barriques and 350 litre barrels (seventeen percent of which were new), where fermentation commenced spontaneously with ambient yeasts. Following fermentation, the wine was aged on lees for eleven months. The wine was bottled without fining and with minimal filtration.
Kooyong Vineyard forms part of the Gjergja family estate, along with Port Philip Estate and is planted to 40 hectares of vines on well-drained, low-vigour sedimentary clay loams, about 50 miles south of Melbourne. The head winemaker Glen Hayley stepped down after the 2022 vintage, with Tim Perrin taking the lead from 2023. The rolling hillsides and varying aspects of the region create countless microclimates, perfectly suited to Burgundian grape varieties. The moderating effect of the ocean surrounding the peninsula contributes towards a cooler climate and ample rainfall, which ensures freshness, vibrancy and elegance in the wines.
