2011 Ferrous Pinot Noir, Kooyong

Mature, graceful and quietly intense, this Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir shows the darker, more mineral side of Kooyong’s single-block wines. Red cherry, cranberry and wild raspberry sit beside autumn leaves, spice, earth and a faint savoury woodsmoke note, giving the wine a beautifully settled complexity. The palate is silky and finely drawn, with delicate fruit, cool-climate freshness and a firm ironstone edge that gives shape and quiet authority.

There is real poise here, the kind that comes from a wine built on detail rather than volume. The tannins have softened with time, yet still carry a fine, gravelly grip, leading into a long, savoury finish of red fruit, spice and mineral depth. It is elegant, mature and full of Mornington character.

For when: the evening needs something contemplative, rare and gently dramatic.
Pairs with: duck, roast chicken, mushroom risotto, venison, pork with herbs, charred aubergine or aged Comté.

Kooyong is one of the leading names of the Mornington Peninsula, based at Tuerong and devoted to site-expressive Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The Ferrous block takes its name from ironstone-rich soils, giving wines known for their darker fruit, savoury grip and mineral intensity. Under Sandro Mosele, Kooyong helped define a more restrained, detailed and terroir-led style of Australian Pinot Noir.