Tolpuddle

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 and Chardonnay. 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, located in Coal River Valley. 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 the Burgundian varieties. 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 or so on, they are increasingly sought after.

The grapes at Tolpuddle are harvested and sorted by hand. The Pinot Noir is vinified in open-topped fermenters with some whole bunches included, before maturation in French barriques. The Chardonnay is whole-bunched pressed and matured in barriques with gentle lees stirring. In both colours, the wines are fine and elegant, with lifted, delicate aromatics.

Jancis Robinson calls Tolpuddle “one of the most successful wines to have been launched in the last 10 years”. The estate is widely recognised as one of the finest Australian producers of the Burgundian varieties.