2021 Quealy Seventeen Rows Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula

The most structured offering in the Quealy stable – the tannins are textural with seemingly more fruit weight. It still has the vivacity of the ’21 vintage, yet incorporates hints of sweet and tart rhubarb, dark cherries, mocha and dried herbs plus cedar oak flavour. The palate doesn’t quite flesh out, even if it is medium bodied, as the acidity is keeping everything reined in, bar the slightly bitter, charred radicchio character on the finish, which adds to the mouthfeel and pleasure of drinking.

95 points Jane Faulkner winecompanion.com.au

Quealy Seventeen Rows Pinot Noir is a beautifully detailed and distinctly Mornington Peninsula expression that captures both site and the quiet authority of one of Australia’s most important Pinot families. The Seventeen Rows vineyard sits on gently sloping ground on the Peninsula, where cool maritime air, long growing seasons and low yielding vines create Pinot Noir with perfume, savoury depth and natural restraint. The name comes from the original seventeen rows planted at the site, a reminder that this wine is about place first, not production scale.

Quealy is synonymous with Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir. Founded by Kathleen Quealy and Kevin McCarthy, the estate helped define the region’s modern identity, with a deep belief in site expression, texture and balance. Today the wines continue that legacy, shaped by decades of intimate knowledge of the Peninsula’s soils and climate. Seventeen Rows is made with a gentle, thoughtful approach. Careful harvesting, restrained extraction and sensitive oak use allow the vineyard character to remain front and centre.

In the glass, the wine is aromatic and inviting. Red cherry, wild strawberry and cranberry lead, followed by rose petal, dried herbs and subtle spice. With air, savoury notes of forest floor, tea leaf and a faint mineral edge emerge, giving the wine depth and complexity without weight.

On the palate, Quealy Seventeen Rows Pinot Noir is medium bodied, supple and finely structured. Bright red fruit flows across a silky mid palate, supported by fresh acidity and fine, powdery tannins that give shape and length. The texture is elegant rather than plush, finishing dry and savoury with lingering red fruit, spice and earthy nuance that feels unmistakably Mornington Peninsula.

This is a Pinot Noir made for the table. It pairs beautifully with roast chicken, duck, pork, mushroom dishes or lighter game. Drinking beautifully now for its freshness and detail, it will also cellar comfortably over five to eight years, gaining more savoury complexity and softness with time.

Quealy Seventeen Rows Pinot Noir is refined, expressive and deeply regional. A thoughtful Mornington Peninsula Pinot that rewards attention, celebrates vineyard history and quietly reminds you why Quealy remains such an important name in Australian Pinot Noir.