This is handpicked, single-site chardonnay at its very best — a whole bunch of pressed grapes, fermented with natural yeasts and left on its lees for 12 months. It’s a pretty hands-off process, really, but that’s the secret to letting the character of the site show its true colours. The result is a wine layered with complex savoury notes matched with crystalline, fresh, zesty fruit that fills the palate. Flinty mineral characters lead to grapefruit and lemon zest fruit while the barrel influence brings softer nougat, cashew and toast.
This wine can be drunk now or cellared for another 5-8 years for something very special!
The Faultline Vineyard
Faultline, the largest block at Kooyong, is planted predominantly to Chardonnay in an area where the soils are characterised by a friable dark brown loamy clay. Adjacent to the Farrago block to the West, the Faultline block is more gently sloping. The block is bounded by a geological fault that runs along the south-western end, beyond which the soil becomes quite poorly drained. Before this fault, however, the soils are well-drained and high in organic matter. The Chardonnay from the Faultline block is rich and full, defined by generosity of texture while still supported by Kooyong’s inherent minerality.