Koomilya
South Australia - McLaren Vale
About Koomilya
At only 15 years old, Stephen Pannell wandered off from his family and found himself at the diving end of Busselton Jetty, on the edge of the rolling Margaret River. While scuba diving, Steve, full of youth and wonder, retrieved an old, blemished bell from the sea, drawn to it as if it called to him. Later, the bell would reveal its history as a relic from the SS Koomilya, a ship from the early 1900s that ferried between Western and South Australia, serving even during WWII. Steve liked the bell, took it home, and cleaned it up, unknowingly marking the beginning of a lifelong passion for exploring and preserving history.
Steve’s winemaking journey, deeply rooted in his family’s history in Margaret River, evolved further during his time as Chief Winemaker at Hardy’s, where he worked with vineyards across the country and applied his craft to thousands of wines. It was during this period that he discovered a particular vineyard on Amery Rd, established in the late 1800s, which captured his imagination. Nurturing this plot led Steve to win his first Jimmy Watson with an Eileen Hardy Shiraz from the vineyard, sparking a determination to own the property. After two decades of persistence, he and his wife Fiona finally acquired it from owners Don and Jill Cant. “Steve is fulfilling both the potential of that vineyard,” Don said, receiving one of the first cases of Koomilya DC Block Shiraz, “and my personal dreams that I wasn’t able to fulfill myself.”
Named Koomilya, a word for “woman” in a Port Lincoln Aboriginal dialect, the vineyard resonated with Steve’s view of Mother Earth as the ultimate muse, providing life and grounding his winemaking philosophy. Steve’s vision for Koomilya reflects his commitment to creating wines with a sense of place, connected to the birth-land. Like the bell, Koomilya embodies curiosity and mystique, with its old house, a towering central gum tree, and the air of history that permeates the vineyard. “These wines have strength, intensity, and glorious grape tannins that wind the palate together, almost like a double helix,” says Steve. “They capture what McLaren Vale Shiraz was, without all the artifice of winemaking.”
Koomilya means “woman” in Port Lincoln Aboriginal dialect. Quite serendipitous in many ways, as it resonated with Steve given his love affair with the idea of Mother Earth; to grow something from the ground up and turn it into something amazing. Grateful to the land and its gifts, and recognizing the privilege of calling it home, he founded Koomilya in pursuit of ensuring that each and every wine has a sense of place while connecting to its birth-land. Just like the bell, Koomilya is mystical and curious, from the old house, right to the central soaring gum tree which seems to reach the clouds. It’s a vineyard full of history and character, a site that encapsulates not only elements from Steve’s journey, both past and present, but the unquenchable history of Australian winemaking as a whole.
“These wines have strength, intensity and glorious grape tannins that wind the palate together, almost like a double helix,” says Steve. “The complex structure pulls you straight through. On the nose they have a unique characteristic which can’t be clearly identified but can only be described as Koomilya. They illustrate what I’m hoping modern McLaren Vale shiraz will be, which harks back to a tradition of what McLaren Vale shiraz was, without all the artifice of winemaking.”
Koomilya’s wines are made in a classical style, aged in large foudres without new oak to enhance their age-worthy character. Many have drawn comparisons between Koomilya and the iconic Wendouree in Clare Valley for their old-school approach and potential for development. The Koomilya vineyard is wedged between the original Upper Tintara vineyard which was planted by the famous Doctor Kelly in 1862, and the Hope Farm or Seaview vineyard which was established in the early 1850s by George Manning. Located at the secluded end of Amery Road, Koomilya’s 13 hectares of vines and over 15 hectares of native bush include some of the oldest vines in the region, likely dating back 120 years. The site benefits from the cool air flowing down from the Hardy scrub, creating a unique microclimate that tempers the heat and strengthens the wines.
In 2016, Steve released the first two wines from Koomilya: the 2013 DC Block Shiraz and the 2014 Shiraz, marking the beginning of a new chapter. With unwavering support from his family, especially his wife Fiona, Steve’s legacy is only just beginning at Koomilya.
- Owners Steve & Fiona Pannell
- Winemaker Steve Pannell
- Average Annual Production 2,000 cases
- Farming Practices Practicing organic – regenerative