2023 Elanto Vineyard Chardonnay

Elanto Vineyard, a 10.6-hectare high-density site on the Mornington Peninsula, is managed by acclaimed winemaker Sandro Mosele and his team. With 11,000 vines per hectare—four times the typical density—yields are limited to 300-500g per vine, enhancing concentration and power in the wines. Organic practices, deep soil cultivation, and volcanic basalt soils rich in iron stone encourage site-specific expression, while the vineyard's southeast aspect and cool sea breezes preserve natural acidity and freshness.
The three Chardonnay vineyards—Verge, Buckshot, and Seawinds—span 4 hectares on the lower slopes, where silt over clay transitions to lighter, gravelly soils rich in buckshot. The cool southerly airflow and soil profile preserve natural acidity and enhance mineral notes. Each vineyard was harvested and vinified separately, with hand-sorted fruit whole-bunch pressed directly into a mix of new and older French oak barriques for natural fermentation. After 10 months in barrel, the wine spent an additional two months in large concrete vats before bottling.

Brilliant pale straw colour with a subtle glimmer of green around the outskirts and a watery hue. Intense white peach, nectarine and dried honey scents are complimented by delicate biscuity oak, citrusy nougat and subtle flinty mineral elements. Long and showing a Burgundy like refinement across the palate, flavours of white peach, nectarine and citrus are brimming with freshness. Rich and concentrated yet light on its feet, notions of biscuity nougat, dried honey, faint crème brulee, subtle cashew and delicate infusions of flinty minerals lend further complexity. Possessing outstanding power and a cool tone, it concludes long and finessed with a gentle creamy textural feel.
Drink over the next 5-6 years.
Alc. 13.5%

Other Reviews….
As with the pinot noir, this is the inaugural release and it’s a beauty, enticing immediately with aromas of citrus blossom, ginger flower, struck flint and warm, woodsy spice. There’s a savouriness within, alongside grapefruit and pith, lemon-infused creamy lees, grilled nuts and oak spice, all adding layers of flavour. Moreish, thanks to a whisper of sulphides, and while the fuller-bodied palate is shapely, super fine acidity extends the length and ties everything together. It’s worth noting how this comes to be, other than from fruit off the high-density vineyard: whole-bunch pressed to French oak, 25% new and mostly light toast Sirugue barriques, aged on lees for 10 months then popped into Nico Velo Tulipe concrete vessels for two months before bottling. Drink by 2031.
96 Points
Jane Faulkner – James Halliday’s Australian Wine Companion

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. I’ve written more on Elanto over on the blog – here – but basically 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.
The wine: 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. Drink 2024-2030+
95 Points
Campbell Mattinson – The Wine Front