Elanto is the groundbreaking project from Mornington Peninsula’s Sandro Mosele. Sandro was the long-term winemaker at Kooyong back in the naughties, before having a spell at Ten Minutes by Tractor. Due to this, he knows Mornington like few do.. In recent years though, we have heard very little of Sandro – until now.
Elanto was presented to us very recently and the story behind the project is astounding. Both Max Allen and Campbell Mattinson (wine journalists) visited the property earlier in the year and have provided their take on the project, excerpts of which we have included below.
In short, Elanto is an ambitious, high-density Pinot Noir and Chardonnay project lead by one of Australia’s best winemaker’s in Sandro Mosele. Sandro has found the right backer with deep pockets who has made the dream become a reality. Of course, all of this sounds great, but what will really define the project will be the quality of the wines produced. Well, having just tasted the inaugural release, we can confirm that there is a lot to get excited about here…
Please read on for insights from Campbell and Max. Better still, join us at Five Way Cellars Wednesday October 9th (4.30-6.30pm) to meet Sandro and have him lead us all through the wines and tell us his story first hand. It will be fascinating story and presents customers with a chance to be amongst in the country (and world!) to taste these wines. – Ches Cook, FWC.
‘I’ve felt for a long time that Australian winemakers would go to Burgundy, and we’d bring back what we’d learned about the barrels they used, or the winemaking techniques they used, but we always ignored their vineyards. And to me, that’s the secret. It’s the vineyard. I wanted to see what would happen if we changed how we grew the grapes.’ – Sandro Mosele.
I’m not sure that I’ve ever seen anything quite like the new Elanto vineyard on the Mornington Pensinula. Is it Australia’s largest close-planted vineyard? You’d reckon. It was all planted in one go, in 2018, and when I say all I mean 10.6 hectares of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, in one continuous vineyard, with rows only 1.2 metres apart, and vines only 0.75 metres apart. This spacing and this area means that the Elanto vineyard is 10.6 hectares of 11,111 vines each hectare, which equates to a vineyard made up of 117, 777 individual vines, arranged into eight separate blocks. The fact that it has all gone in essentially at once, and that it’s all trained to within an inch of its life, and that it was all mapped according to expert geological consultation – not to mention that no expense at any point along the way has been spared – means that even to a non-expert eye it’s abundantly clear that something extraordinary is in the works here.
The location of this vineyard is an elevated, south-east facing site at Balnarring, overlooking Western Port Bay. This is a remarkable site and the start of what promises to be a pretty special journey. Sandro Mosele, noted former winemaker of Kooyong and Port Phillip Estate, is in charge of the winemaking, and of plenty more besides. Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front.
The 2023 Chardonnay is easily one of the most exciting examples of the variety I’ve tasted this year, from anywhere, and signals to me that Elanto is a very special site for this grape. And while I’m not quite as bowled over by the very good 2023 Elanto Pinot Noir in bottle, some of the 2024s tasted in barrel at the winery are extraordinary.” – Max Allen.
Single Bottle Price: $95.00
Dozen Bottle Price: $85.50
A blend of the 3 Chardonnay blocks: Verge, Buckshot and Seawinds. Each vineyard picked and vinified separately. The fruit was hand-sorted and then whole-bunch pressed with the juice run direct to a mix of new and older French oak barriques. A natural fermentation completed over the coming months. In total the wine spent 10 months in
barrel before being transferred to large concrete vats for a further 2 months’ maturation before bottling.
This is staggeringly good wine considering the age of vines (only planted in 2019) and the coolness of the vintage. The first thing that hits you is the concentration and intensity of fruit, both aromatically and – particularly – on the palate: confident, weighty, not heavy at all (even at 14% alcohol), just incisive and tangy, announcing itself as a delicious expression of the variety. Components of the 2024, tasted in barrel, show the same intensity and quality. This has all the early signs of being a great Chardonnay vineyard site. Max Allen, Jancis Robinson.
Fantastic intensity of flavour matched to fantastic length. This is a chardonnay for lovers of chardonnay. There’s cedarwood oak in play, and a kind of nutty-creaminess too, but it’s the blaze of pear, white peach, grapefruit and steel that really woos. Citrussy acidity teams with the pear characters to give the wine an air of juicy refreshment, but everything is in the context of flavour, bold and delicious. This is an exceptional first release, and a truly beautiful wine. 95 points, drink 2024-2030+, Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front.
Single Bottle Price: $95.00
Dozen Bottle Price: $85.50
‘A blend of the 5 Pinot Noir blocks. Each vineyard was picked and vinified separately. The fruit was first chilled and then sorted and destemmed into concrete vats with a small (3–5%) selection of whole bunches. A cold soak followed by natural fermentation completed in vat before pressing after 25–30 days on skins. The wines were raised in a mix of new and older French oak barriques. Malolactic conversion completed late spring and the wine spent a total of 11 months in barrel before bottling.’
Where the inaugural Elanto Chardonnay is notable for its intensity, the Pinot is notable for its complexity. Expressive, dark aromas, damp red soil, Damson plum, bold and brambly, layers of flavour tumble across the tongue. Doesn't remotely taste like it's from a southeasterly facing coastal vineyard in a cool, late vintage. Not showing the fast-tracked concentration of young, high-density vines in the same way as the Chardonnay, and is a little loose-knit now, but has enormous potential and will pull focus beautifully in the bottle. - Max Allen, Jancis Robinson.
There’s a lot going on with this Pinot Noir but it manages to feel effortless. Seamless is the word; finished is another. Campari-like herbs, roasted nuts, earth, undergrowth and sweet black cherries, the latter deep-set in Pinot Noir terms. There’s an excellent framework of tannin, firm and velvety at once, dry strings splayed out across a mesh made of hazelnuts. This wine became more expansive as it rested in the glass. This is the first Pinot Noir grown and made from this vineyard. It’s an exciting debut, with an even more exciting future. 95 points, drink 2024-2030+, Campbell Mattinson, the Wine Front.