Koomilya is the name of a 12-hectare vineyard at the end of Amery Road in the heart of McLaren Vale, purchased several years ago by winemaker Stephen Pannell. “When I was at Hardy’s, the fruit we got off this vineyard was superb, and one of the wines I made from it won the Jimmy Watson Trophy [at the Royal Melbourne Wine Show], so I jumped at the opportunity of buying it when it came up,” he explains. First planted in the late 1800s, the combination of unusually sandy soils and old vine fruit gives an aromatic lift to the wines, setting them apart from the crowd.
Koomilya has the potential to become one of Australia’s most sought-after vineyards. “The wines illustrate what I‘m hoping modern McLaren Vale wine will be, which harks back to a tradition of what it looked like in the 1960s, without all the artifice of winemaking,” says Stephen. Above all, the wines convey an exciting, honest sense of place.
“Native ferment, with 16 days on skins; maturation in a 2300L oak vat. This with a certain succulence allied with tension, a play of sour cherry spiced with caraway, tart raspberry confiture, red plum, haunting warm spices, orange-fruity coffee grounds, umeboshi, dried mint and bitter chocolate, and all feeling of fruit, of place, the winemaking subservient. The fruit swoops in on the palate, expansive but serene, with ripples of texture, tannins extracted masterfully, caressing, savoury but not drying, quietly commanding. Brilliant.” 97pts Gold Marcus Ellis Halliday Wine Companion 2025
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