Vintage
2019
ABV
13.5%
AUD$ FOB / 9L Case
Above $200.00
Wine Type
Red
Wine Style
Still
Wine Description
This single-block wine is sourced from 0.7 ha of gently sloping 22-year-old vines. These vines naturally produce low yields due to a combination of unique orientation, free drainage and high exposure. Together with this, the soil has a far greater prevalence of ironstone pebbles than any other part of the vineyard and delivers wine with great concentration and savoury tannic presence.
This wine was fermented in a large-format wooden vat. The ferment, with a portion of whole bunches, occurred spontaneously with ambient yeasts and lasted 17 days. Following fermentation, the wine was pressed and racked into French oak barriques (27% of which were new) and underwent indigenous malolactic fermentation. The wine was racked only once, with a total maturation period of 14 months. It was then bottled without fining or filtration.
Always unique, the 2019 Ferrous opens on the savoury side with iron, clove, allspice and lavender. Fruity and floral notes appear, displaying flavours of cranberry, orange zest, violets and cherry, while whole-bunch aromas add complexity. There is gentle power to the palate with an attractive combination of savoury flavours and purple fruits. The ultra-fine tannins offer a pleasingly dry, moreish spiciness, leading to a long and sustained finish of black cherry and lifted florals.
Accolades
Wine Pilot – 95 points
The WineFront – 94 points
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.
