Elanto - Australia's most ambitious new vineyard?
‘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.
Elanto Chardonnay 2023
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.
Elanto Pinot Noir 2023
‘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.
