Australia

Mornington Peninsula

Australia wine regions

About Mornington Peninsula

Mornington Peninsula is a thumb of land an hour south-east of Melbourne, surrounded by water on three sides. Cool, maritime, even-tempered - the kind of climate that grows Burgundy. Pinot Noir is the calling card, with Chardonnay a close second and a serious side game in Pinot Gris. The region took off in the early 1970s when Nat and Rosalie White planted Main Ridge Estate, and it's still a region of small family producers rather than industrial wineries. Three elevated 'ridges' (Red Hill, Main Ridge, Merricks) sit at the top of the peninsula on red volcanic soils and grow most of the best Pinot. Names to know: Yabby Lake, Ten Minutes by Tractor, Kooyong, Paringa, Stonier, Moorooduc, Crittenden.

Australia wine regions

Vintages

40 · 2005–2024

Rating:

95+

90-94

85-89

80-84

<80

PeakReadyHold

Year	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013	2012	2011	2010	2009	2008	2007	2006	2005
Red
White

Outstanding Mornington Peninsula Vintages

The best recent vintages rated excellent or exceptional.

Red

2024

Ready

95Exceptional

Early reports point to a high-quality vintage with a mild, dry summer after a cooler start. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay look fragrant and well balanced.

2023

Ready

94Excellent

Cool, late vintage with a long, drawn-out ripening. Pinot Noir is perfumed and medium-bodied, Chardonnay shows bright acid drive and citrus lift.

2022

Ready

95Exceptional

Excellent across the board. Even ripening, low disease pressure and ideal autumn weather produced concentrated, age-worthy Pinot and structured Chardonnay.

2021

Ready

96Exceptional

Widely seen as one of the great recent Mornington vintages. Long, even season produced Pinot Noir with depth, length and classic red-fruit aromatics.

2020

Ready

92Excellent

Smaller crop after a difficult flowering and a dry season. Wines are concentrated and pure; the best are excellent but yields were well down.

2019

Ready

91Excellent

Warm, dry growing season. Pinot Noir is riper and more generous than the regional norm; the best producers managed extraction carefully.

2018

Ready

95Exceptional

Outstanding vintage. Long, even ripening produced fragrant, balanced Pinot Noir and taut, mineral Chardonnay with strong ageing potential.

2017

Ready

94Excellent

Cool, late vintage. Elegant, perfumed Pinot Noir with lower alcohols and bright acidity; a traditionalist's favourite.

2016

Ready

93Excellent

Warm, generous vintage. Pinot Noir shows ripe red fruit and plush tannins, drinking earlier than the cooler 2017 or 2018s.

2015

Ready

95Exceptional

Smaller crop, very high quality. Pinot Noir is concentrated with classic cherry-strawberry lift and Chardonnay is taut and long.

White

2024

Ready

95Exceptional

Early reports point to a high-quality vintage with a mild, dry summer after a cooler start. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay look fragrant and well balanced.

2023

Ready

94Excellent

Cool, late vintage with a long, drawn-out ripening. Pinot Noir is perfumed and medium-bodied, Chardonnay shows bright acid drive and citrus lift.

2022

Ready

95Exceptional

Excellent across the board. Even ripening, low disease pressure and ideal autumn weather produced concentrated, age-worthy Pinot and structured Chardonnay.

2021

Ready

96Exceptional

Widely seen as one of the great recent Mornington vintages. Long, even season produced Pinot Noir with depth, length and classic red-fruit aromatics.

2020

Ready

92Excellent

Smaller crop after a difficult flowering and a dry season. Wines are concentrated and pure; the best are excellent but yields were well down.

2019

Ready

91Excellent

Warm, dry growing season. Pinot Noir is riper and more generous than the regional norm; the best producers managed extraction carefully.

2018

Ready

95Exceptional

Outstanding vintage. Long, even ripening produced fragrant, balanced Pinot Noir and taut, mineral Chardonnay with strong ageing potential.

2017

Ready

94Excellent

Cool, late vintage. Elegant, perfumed Pinot Noir with lower alcohols and bright acidity; a traditionalist's favourite.

2016

Ready

93Excellent

Warm, generous vintage. Pinot Noir shows ripe red fruit and plush tannins, drinking earlier than the cooler 2017 or 2018s.

2015

Ready

95Exceptional

Smaller crop, very high quality. Pinot Noir is concentrated with classic cherry-strawberry lift and Chardonnay is taut and long.

On the map

Climate

CoolMaritimeEven temperatureLong ripening

Nowhere on the peninsula is far from water, and it shows: breezes off Port Phillip, Western Port and Bass Strait keep summer modest and even, and the season runs long and late. The trade-off is wind and marginal ripening in cool years, which is exactly the tension Pinot Noir likes.

Terroir

Volcanic basaltBrown loamMaritimeCoastal

The high ground of the peninsula carries red volcanic basalt soils, deep and water-holding, while the lower, warmer north grows vines on brown and yellow duplex loams. Elevation and aspect split the region into dozens of mesoclimates, which is why neighboring vineyards can pick weeks apart.

Typical Aromas

Red cherryStrawberrySea sprayCitrusHazelnutForest floor

Explore the aroma wheel