The 2024 Elanto Vineyard Basalt Pinot Noir is a single-plot bottling from a 1.39-hectare parcel at Balnarring on the Mornington Peninsula. Basalt occupies a mid-slope position where the soil thins and the basaltic rock beneath comes close to the surface. It is one of the first two lieux-dits Elanto has bottled on its own, alongside Ironstone.
Elanto was established in 2018 by Elizabeth and Tony Todaro with winemaker Sandro Mosele, whose earlier work at Kooyong and Port Phillip Estate shaped much of the modern Mornington Peninsula. The 10.6-hectare site is planted at 11,111 vines per hectare, roughly four times the Australian norm and a density more familiar in Burgundy. Vines stand seventy-five centimetres apart, forcing the roots to compete and drive down into the basalt and ironstone beneath, and each vine carries only three to five hundred grams of fruit. Farming is organic, the aspect is south-easterly, and cool air off Western Port Bay holds the acidity in place. The Pinot Noir is grown across five named plots, Vertex, Ironstone, Chicory, Kilnside and Basalt, each picked and vinified separately. Halliday named Elanto its Best New Winery after the debut releases.
The perfume is elegant and detailed, with wild strawberry, black cherry and orange zest over forest floor, Middle Eastern spice, menthol and a subtle note of green walnut. The palate is medium-bodied, savoury and poised, carrying generous red and black fruit on silky, gliding tannins. Cleansing acidity keeps it precise, while earthy complexity and delicate spice extend through a long, linear finish. Set against the more powerful Ironstone, Basalt is the finer and more aromatic of the pair.
