Vintage
2020
ABV
13%
Wine Type
White
Wine Style
Still
Wine Description
Kooyong Estate Chardonnay comprises fruit from our Faultline and Farrago blocks. It offers an overall expression of the Kooyong vineyard, with parcels of fruit from various soils and mesoclimates blended together to create the Estate label. Year after year the same parcels are consistently chosen, giving this wine an underlying likeness across vintages.
The fruit was gently whole-bunch pressed directly into French oak barriques (18% of which were new) and fermentation occurred spontaneously with ambient yeasts. Following fermentation the wine was aged on lees (without battonage) for 11 months. The wine was bottled without fining and with minimal filtration.
The nuanced and poised nose features a combination of fresh citrus and white pear aromas, together with struck flint, nougat and a complexing note of fresh hay. The palate is balanced and concentrated, displaying bright lemon and mandarin flavours. The fine line of acidity provides vibrancy and freshness through the palate, finishing long and intense, with a talc-like grip.
Winemaker's Bio
Glen Hayley’s winemaking philosophy is driven by authenticity; wine that speaks of place, preserving the character of the fruit and celebrating the vineyard in which it was grown. It is the fine balance between scrupulous attention to detail and minimal intervention that allows wine to fully express provenance. Glen’s passion for natural fermentation techniques extends beyond wine to sour beer, cider and fermented food.
Serendipity saw Glen discover the world of wine. A job in the industry on a gap year in Vancouver offered an addictive glimpse of his future vocation. Returning to Melbourne, Glen completed a Bachelor of Viticultural Science and Wine Production, while working in cool and warm climate wineries across Australia, France, Germany, New Zealand and the USA. His time with premium new world Chardonnay and Pinot Noir producers in Central Otago and Sonoma County, along with a concentration on white wines in the Loire Valley and the Mosel, helped shape his thinking.
His desire to focus on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay saw Glen join Kooyong and Port Phillip Estate in 2009. In 2015 Glen became Chief Winemaker.
The viticulture and winemaking teams at Kooyong and Port Phillip Estate are intensely collaborative. The team includes chief viticulturist Stuart Marshall and David Merli and winemaker Christian Bradshaw.
