Sandro Mosele is no stranger to the readers of this mailer. He is in my opinion the best Pinot Noir winemaker in Mornington Peninsula, alongside with half-a-dozen of Pinot specialist such as Gary Farr of Bannockburn (Serré pinot noir), Phillip Jones of Bass Phillip, Rick Kinzbrunner of Giaconda, and most recent vintages of Bindi, which is co-produced by Stuart Anderson & Michael Dhillon. Outside this group of people, they simply are no Pinot Noirs from Australia that excite me. Like Merlot, pinot noir is a demanding grape to raise and it has taken Australia more than two decade to achieve its present state. Clearly, Mosele had raised the quality of Pinot Noir in Mornington Peninsula within a brief period and his rather European approach has not only gained him accolades domestically, but also from outside of Australia. The famous Australian wine critic Jeremy Oliver has once said, “the arrival of Sandro Mosele, is possible the best thing could have happened to Mornington Peninsula.”
Before the arrival of Mosele, the Mornington Peninsula was already a famous area for making cool-climate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir but often criticized for quality inconsistency, making Pinot Noir which are relatively spicy, earthy and occasionally stalky.
After graduating from Charles Stuart University, Mosele went on to work at Rochford and later, under the stewardship of Sergio Carlei at Carlei Estate and Green Vineyards, he was soon noticed. Since 1996, Mosele has devoted himself entirely to developing Kooyong’s 30 hectares of vineyard planted predominantly with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in multi-clonal settings in five separate vineyards blocks. These vineyards blocks consist of two Chardonnay blocks (“Faultline” and “Mosaic”) and three Pinot Noir blocks (“Haven”, “Meres” and “Ferrous”). Each block may be made-up of 10 individual parcels, each of which is always treated separately. In its earlier years, due to the young age of the vines, most of these parcels had yet to obtain the necessary intensity and individuality, therefore only estate Chardonnay and Pinot Noirs were made. But since 2001, SVS (single-vineyard-series) bottlings were gradually introduced and only the finest parcels of each block will make it into the SVS bottlings, whereas the second-best parcels are blended together to make up the Kooyong “Estate” wines. There is also a second label called “Massale” for pinots and “Clonal” for Chardonnay made each year.
Before the arrival of Mosele, the Mornington Peninsula was already a famous area for making cool-climate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir but often criticized for quality inconsistency, making Pinot Noir which are relatively spicy, earthy and occasionally stalky.
After graduating from Charles Stuart University, Mosele went on to work at Rochford and later, under the stewardship of Sergio Carlei at Carlei Estate and Green Vineyards, he was soon noticed. Since 1996, Mosele has devoted himself entirely to developing Kooyong’s 30 hectares of vineyard planted predominantly with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in multi-clonal settings in five separate vineyards blocks. These vineyards blocks consist of two Chardonnay blocks (“Faultline” and “Mosaic”) and three Pinot Noir blocks (“Haven”, “Meres” and “Ferrous”). Each block may be made-up of 10 individual parcels, each of which is always treated separately. In its earlier years, due to the young age of the vines, most of these parcels had yet to obtain the necessary intensity and individuality, therefore only estate Chardonnay and Pinot Noirs were made. But since 2001, SVS (single-vineyard-series) bottlings were gradually introduced and only the finest parcels of each block will make it into the SVS bottlings, whereas the second-best parcels are blended together to make up the Kooyong “Estate” wines. There is also a second label called “Massale” for pinots and “Clonal” for Chardonnay made each year.
Mosele told me that Mornington Peninsula fruit often enjoys larger cluster than say, Gippsland Pinot Noir. Yield control is therefore essential for making quality Pinot Noir here. He conducts severe shoot thinning and prunes ruthlessly to reduce the potential crop size. All grapes are 100% destalked, as he claims that it is hard to achieve good ripening of stalks in this area. Fermentation took place in traditional burgundian open top fermenter with pigeage by hands. Fermentation typically last 7 days using only indigenous yeast. The must is kept with cap until it naturally sinks and is passed to French 228 liters barrel for aging. He uses up to 35% new barrels coming predominantly from tronçais from cooperages such as François Frères, Taransaud and Bertrange. He only used barrels seasoned for 3 years. The wine is racked only once after malolactic fermentation and bottles after 17 months.
Starting with 2003 vintages, all three SVS Pinot Noirs make it to the bottles. “Meres” refers to lake or pond, since the originating site of this vineyard is surrounded by water. The higher content of sand in this vineyard makes it naturally low in vigor, and the abundant sun exposures also make it the most showy of all three SVS Pinot Noirs. The 2003 offers plenty of red berries, very profound and velvety. It is well-pitched and shows noticeable sappiness, which is rare for Australian Pinots (only Giaconda pinots carries a similar sappy feel). Good purity and very delicate. 2003 Haven vineyard is largely surrounded with trees and is probably the most protected site of all. It offers more structured and intense fruits. High-toned dark raspberries, with roasted element and pronounced earth. Seemingly reminiscent of a Pommard. 2003 Ferrous is my favorite vineyard of all. It shows off more dark cherries with denser palate than any of the preceding wines. It also has more “cut” and edgy feel, thanks to the underlying acidity. A more complete, focused and clear-framed of all of the three wines.
Starting with 2003 vintages, all three SVS Pinot Noirs make it to the bottles. “Meres” refers to lake or pond, since the originating site of this vineyard is surrounded by water. The higher content of sand in this vineyard makes it naturally low in vigor, and the abundant sun exposures also make it the most showy of all three SVS Pinot Noirs. The 2003 offers plenty of red berries, very profound and velvety. It is well-pitched and shows noticeable sappiness, which is rare for Australian Pinots (only Giaconda pinots carries a similar sappy feel). Good purity and very delicate. 2003 Haven vineyard is largely surrounded with trees and is probably the most protected site of all. It offers more structured and intense fruits. High-toned dark raspberries, with roasted element and pronounced earth. Seemingly reminiscent of a Pommard. 2003 Ferrous is my favorite vineyard of all. It shows off more dark cherries with denser palate than any of the preceding wines. It also has more “cut” and edgy feel, thanks to the underlying acidity. A more complete, focused and clear-framed of all of the three wines.
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