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Tolpuddle Pinot Noir 2023: a cool climate success story

Tolpuddle Pinot Noir comes from Australia’s coolest wine region: Tasmania. The estate produces wines of extraordinary finesse and elegance from a vineyard planted with Burgundian clones of Pinot Noir. Many may claim to make the New World answer to Burgundy – but few as justifiably as Tolpuddle. These wines are the real deal.

Much of the success at Tolpuddle is down to the quality of the land. Working for Domaine Chandon, viticultural expert Tony Jordan first saw its potential for top-end sparkling wines in the 1980s. Then, in 2011, cousins Michael Hill-Smith MW and Martin Shaw bought the vineyard and adapted it for still wines. The climate at Tolpuddle is ideal for Pinot Noir. It is slightly cooler than the Cote d’Or, giving restrained a fruit profile. It is also significantly drier, making for exceptionally healthy grapes.

The first vintage at Tolpuddle was 2012. The wines impressed the critics from the very beginning and they have won numerous awards and trophies. A decade on, they are increasingly sought after.

The 2023 vintage at Tolpuddle was a particularly cool one. Harvest was late, allowing the grapes to develop notable aromatic complexity. As usual, the Pinot Noir was vinified in open-topped fermenters with some whole bunches included, before maturation in French barriques. The resulting wine is fine and elegant, with elongated tannins and delicate aromatics.

Jancis Robinson calls Tolpuddle Pinot Noir “one of the most successful wines to have been launched in the last 10 years”. This is an excellent vintage of it. Buy some now to drink over the next 10-15 years.