Kooyong

Kooyong was founded in 1996 by Sandro Mosele, an Australian winemaker of Italian Veneto descent whose family had emigrated to Melbourne in the postwar wave. Mosele studied oenology at Charles Sturt University and apprenticed in cool-climate cellars in Australia and Europe before identifying the northern Mornington Peninsula at Tuerong as the site for his own estate. He purchased a former pasture property and planted Kooyong's first vines in 1996, aiming explicitly at a Burgundian model of single-vineyard, single-block, terroir-driven winemaking. The first commercial vintage was released in 1997, and Kooyong rapidly attracted critical acclaim for its distinctive whole-bunch Pinot Noir and reductive Chardonnay style. In 2003, Italian-Australian businessman Giorgio Gjergja purchased the adjacent property and founded Port Phillip Estate, bringing Mosele on as group winemaker across both estates. The sister-estate arrangement has continued since, with Kooyong and Port Phillip Estate sharing winemaking direction under Mosele while maintaining distinct labels, vineyards, and stylistic identities. Mosele has remained Kooyong's chief winemaker since founding, and the estate's continuity of vision and cellar practice over nearly three decades has been central to its reputation.

• 1996: Sandro Mosele (son of Italian Veneto emigres) founded Kooyong on a former pasture site at Tuerong in the northern Mornington Peninsula
• 1997: first commercial vintage released; critical acclaim for whole-bunch Pinot Noir and reductive Chardonnay arrived rapidly
• 2003: Italian-Australian businessman Giorgio Gjergja founded adjacent Port Phillip Estate and brought Mosele on as group winemaker across both estates
• Sandro Mosele has remained chief winemaker since founding; continuity of vision over nearly three decades is central to the estate's reputation

Kooyong's estate vineyards sit at Tuerong in the northern Mornington Peninsula, on undulating land between the Western Port and Port Phillip Bay coastlines. The site is cooler than the southern Mornington elevated subzones at first appearance, but the northern flats receive distinct maritime influence from both bodies of water, with no vineyard block more than 7 kilometres from the ocean as per the regional norm. Soils across the Kooyong estate are predominantly grey-brown sandy loams over a friable clay subsoil, with significant variation block-to-block in ironstone content, depth, and drainage. This soil variation is the basis of Kooyong's Single-Block series: each named block has a distinct soil profile that produces a recognisably different expression of Pinot Noir or Chardonnay. The estate is planted predominantly to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, with small parcels of Pinot Gris also producing well-regarded wines. Vine density is high by Australian standards, reflecting Mosele's Burgundian aspirations. Sustainable viticulture is practised across the estate, with progressive movement toward biodynamic principles in the Single-Block parcels, although the estate has not pursued formal certification.

• Tuerong site in the northern Mornington Peninsula; cooler than the southern elevated subzones; maritime influence from Port Phillip Bay and Western Port
• Grey-brown sandy loams over a friable clay subsoil; significant block-to-block variation in ironstone, depth, and drainage
• Block-by-block soil variation underpins the Single-Block series; each named block produces a recognisably different wine
• Predominantly Pinot Noir and Chardonnay; small parcels of Pinot Gris; high vine density by Australian standards; sustainable viticulture without formal certification

Sandro Mosele's winemaking philosophy is rigorously Burgundian and ultra-reductive. For Pinot Noir, Mosele works extensively with whole-bunch fermentation, varying the percentage block-by-block and vintage-by-vintage but typically operating in a range of 30 to 80 percent whole bunches for the Single-Block tier. Fermentations use indigenous yeast in small open fermenters, with gentle hand plunging and minimal extraction; the wines are pressed to oak (predominantly French oak, with a deliberately moderate new oak proportion) and undergo long, slow malolactic fermentation in barrel. For Chardonnay, Mosele works reductively: whole-bunch pressing, settling, indigenous yeast fermentation in barrel with minimal stirring, and extended lees ageing without battonage. The reductive style produces Chardonnay with high tension, mineral lift, restrained tropical fruit, and notable struck-match complexity. New oak proportions across both varieties are moderate (typically below 30 percent for Pinot Noir, below 20 percent for Chardonnay), and the house style emphasises site-specificity, structural elegance, and ageing capacity over immediate hedonism. Mosele has been one of the most vocal Australian advocates for whole-bunch Pinot fermentation since the late 1990s, and Kooyong's stylistic influence on the broader Mornington Peninsula cohort has been substantial.

• Whole-bunch fermentation for Pinot Noir varies block-by-block; typically 30-80 percent whole bunches for Single-Block tier; indigenous yeast in small open fermenters
• Reductive Chardonnay: whole-bunch pressing, indigenous yeast fermentation in barrel without battonage, extended lees ageing for tension and struck-match complexity
• Moderate new oak: typically below 30 percent for Pinot Noir, below 20 percent for Chardonnay; emphasises site-specificity and ageing capacity
• Mosele has been one of Australia's most vocal advocates for whole-bunch Pinot Noir fermentation since the late 1990s

Kooyong's portfolio is organised around three tiers, each progressively more site-specific. The Beurrot tier represents the entry-level offering, with Pinot Gris (named for the older French synonym for Pinot Gris) and small parcels of other varieties. The Estate tier comprises Estate Pinot Noir and Estate Chardonnay, both sourced across the broader Kooyong vineyard and representing the foundational expression of the house style. The Single-Block tier is the estate's signature: Haven Pinot Noir, Ferrous Pinot Noir, and Meres Pinot Noir, each from a named individual block with a distinct soil profile, alongside Faultline Chardonnay and Farrago Chardonnay, each likewise from a single named block. Haven typically sits on the cooler northwestern slope and produces the most elegantly perfumed Pinot Noir in the series; Ferrous, from a heavier ironstone block, produces a darker-fruited, more structured Pinot; Meres represents the savoury earthy expression of the series. Faultline Chardonnay is sourced from a block that crosses a geological fault and yields a mineral-driven, tightly wound wine; Farrago Chardonnay comes from a contrasting block with greater clay influence and produces a richer, more textural Chardonnay. The Single-Block wines are typically released only in vintages where the block expresses sufficient distinction, and allocations are limited to mailing-list customers.

• Three tiers: Beurrot (entry Pinot Gris), Estate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay (foundational), Single-Block (signature site-specific releases)
• Single-Block Pinot Noir: Haven (cooler northwestern slope, perfumed), Ferrous (heavier ironstone, darker fruited and structured), Meres (savoury earthy expression)
• Single-Block Chardonnay: Faultline (geological fault block, mineral and tightly wound) and Farrago (greater clay influence, richer and textural)
• Single-Block wines released only in vintages where blocks express sufficient distinction; mailing-list allocations limited

Since 2003, Kooyong has operated as sister estate to Port Phillip Estate, the adjacent vineyard and winery purchased and developed by Italian-Australian businessman Giorgio Gjergja. The two estates maintain distinct labels, vineyards, and stylistic identities, but share winemaking direction under Sandro Mosele and operate from a single integrated cellar and visitor facility at the Port Phillip Estate complex on Red Hill Road, Red Hill South. The architecturally distinctive Port Phillip Estate building, completed in 2009, was designed by Wood Marsh and features a curved stone-clad cellar door, restaurant, accommodation lodge, and tasting rooms; it has won multiple architectural awards and is one of the Mornington Peninsula's most photographed wine destinations. Kooyong wines are showcased at the same cellar door, with dedicated tasting flights available alongside Port Phillip Estate offerings. The two estates' shared focus on Burgundian-style Pinot Noir and Chardonnay reflects Gjergja's and Mosele's parallel Italian-Australian backgrounds and aligned stylistic ambitions. The cellar door is a major anchor of the northern Mornington Peninsula visitor map, drawing wine tourists from Melbourne and internationally.

• Sister estate to Port Phillip Estate (founded 2003 by Italian-Australian Giorgio Gjergja); shared winemaking under Sandro Mosele since 2003
• Architecturally distinctive Port Phillip Estate building (Wood Marsh, completed 2009): stone-clad cellar door, restaurant, accommodation lodge, tasting rooms
• Kooyong and Port Phillip Estate wines showcased at the same cellar door; dedicated tasting flights for each label
• Shared focus on Burgundian-style Pinot Noir and Chardonnay reflects Gjergja's and Mosele's parallel Italian-Australian backgrounds and stylistic ambitions