2024 Elanto Vineyard Chardonnay

Elanto is already being tipped as one of Australia’s most important new vineyard projects, and the 2024 Chardonnay makes it easy to see why. Planted in 2019 by Sandro Mosele at ultra-close density (11,111 vines per hectare), the vineyard is farmed with obsessive detail and cropped to just 500g per vine. It’s a level of precision rarely seen in this country, and the results are extraordinary.

The Chardonnay comes from three blocks – Verge, Buckshot and Seawinds – each picked and vinified separately. Whole-bunch pressed to French oak, it went through a natural fermentation, with some barrels also completing malo to bring texture and savoury complexity. After 10 months in barrique, the wine was settled in concrete and stainless steel before bottling.

The wine itself is arresting: citrus blossom, grapefruit pith and struck flint up front, with layers of stone fruit, grilled nuts and a gentle creaminess from time on lees. There’s intensity and weight here, but also a precision and saline edge that ties it all together.

Named Best New Winery in the 2026 Halliday Wine Companion, Elanto has quickly proven it’s a vineyard to watch. This Chardonnay is proof of concept – a wine of depth, detail and pedigree from vines barely out of their youth.

"A terrific follow up to the inaugural release, coming out with more weight and body... Moreish and compelling."
- Jane Faulkner (Halliday Wine Companion)