Awards and Accolades

92 Points - Wine and Spirits Magazine, US
"This estate-grown chardonnay ferments in French Barriques, without added yeast and rests on the lees without stirring for ten months. It smells like sea spray, a coastal saline scent that carries through the wine’s generous richness. Bright, floral and peppery, this would make an awesome wine for ceviche."

2015 Vintage: 95 Points - Campbell Mattinson, Australian Wine Companion
"About as delicious as chardonnay gets. Beautiful white peach-and-pear fruit, pure and sunny, angles slowly down to a sustained, toasty, mealy finish. A joy to drink."

From the Winery

The 2016 Kooyong Clonale is a blend of Chardonnay from our Tuerong and Balnarring vineyards. The grapes are gently whole-bunch pressed directly into French oak barriques (10% new), where fermentation takes place without inoculation. After fermentation, the wine is aged on lees (without battonage) for 10 months. It is bottled without fining and with minimal filtration.

September 2015 welcomed the beginning of budburst leading to a dry and warm spring. October was 3 degrees above the average temperature and El Niño affected the amount of rain we received. Vine vigour was controlled due to the lack of rainfall with the canopy generous and open. Fruitfulness was up from the previous vintage and flowering and fruit set occurred unhindered. Veraison commenced in early January.

The period between January and mid-March was warmer than historically usual and harvest began at the same time in February as recent vintages. Conditions remained very dry and warm throughout the harvest period, it was a compact vintage finishing in mid-March. The viticultural team worked steadily throughout harvest and delivered healthy and energetic fruit, with ripeness and acidity well balanced.