Story

Great wines come from great vineyards, where deep roots delve into the earth, producing wine with a distinctive 'sense of place'. This is the kind of wine we aspire to create. It requires an outstanding site paired with the best possible farming and winery practices.

At the very start, we looked for a site in and around the Merricks area where we could plant a high-density vineyard. It needed to have free draining soil, and an easterly aspect to go with the maritime influence of the Mornington Peninsula.

In 2018 we found an interesting property that we thought could tick all the boxes. It was in Balnarring, with a cool south easterly aspect and volcanic soil. It was about the same time we met French soil scientist/microbiologist and terroir expert Claude Bourguignon, who by chance, happened to be in Australia. Claude reinforced our belief that true site expression comes from deep rooted vines. We asked him to survey the property and his report confirmed the site had great potential.

In 2019 we designed and planted the site, establishing the boundaries around the survey findings to maximise site expression. In one season we planted five high-density vineyards to Pinot Noir and three to Chardonnay.

Since planting we’ve been farming to our way of thinking, with the vineyard reaching full establishment for a first crop in 2023.

“This is my chance to put into practice all the best practices I’ve learnt and seen in great vineyards around the world. This is the culmination of everything. It’s about making the most of our terroir, and it starts with high density.”

- Sandro Mosele