Roving Sommelier is passionate about premium quality Australian regional wines. Kooyong first came onto my wine radar back in the early 2000s when I was working as head sommelier at Fifth Floor at Harvey Nichols in Knightsbridge, London. At the time, the head winemaker at Kooyong was Sandro Mosele and I met him when he visited us, and I tasted their wines for the first time.

Being a lover of top-notch Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, I loved Kooyong wines ever since that moment and when their wines passed my lips. What’s more, I was also beginning to understand why Mornington Peninsula was starting to be regarded as an excellent, up-and-coming location for expressive cool climate wines from unique terroirs and vineyard sites, especially for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, inspired by Burgundy. Although the winemaker has changed, the baton has now been passed onto Glen Hayley, I have followed Kooyong, as well as other Mornington Peninsula vineyards for many years.

The Kooyong vineyard is located on the Mornington Peninsula at Tuerong, on Miocene sedimentary soils. The wines are made from domain grown, handpicked grapes and aim to manifest terroir: the integration of our geology and soils with the macroclimate of our region, the individual microclimates of the various sites within our vineyard and the weather of the annual grape growing season. The cultural operations in the vineyard and practices in the winery endeavour to articulate these unique characteristics diligently, respectfully and without artifice.

The fruit was fermented in open vats. Fermentation commenced spontaneously with ambient yeasts and lasted for 16 to 18 days. The wine underwent indigenous malolactic fermentation. The maturation period was 10 months in French oak barriques (8% new) and large format ‘foudre’. The wine was bottled without fining and with minimal filtration.

Magnificent Pinot Noir from Australia’s Mornington Peninsula, perfumed with black cherry, summer berries and dried rose petals, followed by a beguiling mouthful of cranberries and more cherry. Best enjoyed served at room temperature, perfect alongside classic roast chicken, turkey, or guinea fowl and in a convivial atmosphere.