Region: Tasmania
Sub Region: Coal River Valley
Variety: Pinot Noir
Country: Australia
Vintage: 2024
Style: Dry red
Format: 750 mL
The Wine
Tolpuddle’s Pinot Noir comes from a gentle north-east-facing slope near Richmond in Tasmania’s Coal River Valley. The vineyard was planted in 1988, and Martin Shaw and Michael Hill Smith MW bought it in 2011. Light silica sands sit over sandstone. The cool valley is relatively dry, giving the grapes time to ripen slowly and develop the perfume that has become a hallmark of the site.
After a dry winter in 2024, rain arrived at useful intervals through spring and summer. Mild, sunny conditions allowed the fruit to ripen evenly. The hand-picked grapes fermented in open wooden and stainless steel vats as a mix of whole berries and bunches, with gentle plunging. Dave Brookes notes 50% whole bunches. The wine spent ten months in French oak, about a third new.
Dark cherry and raspberry have depth here, with anise, pepper and a trace of juniper carrying through the wine. The tannins are fine and persistent, and the acidity keeps the fruit moving through a long, savoury finish. Tolpuddle’s cellar guide gives the 2024 a drinking horizon of 2037.
Cellared Says
I’d buy the 2024 for the cellar. Tolpuddle’s perfume always draws me in, and this release has a darker, more savoury side that I’d like to see with some age. The fine grip gives it somewhere to go. If I had a few bottles, I’d open one while the spice and fruit are still out in front and come back to the next around 2029. Following that change is a big part of why I think Tolpuddle is worth collecting.
Reviews
“A cracking release that smells and tastes of a special place.”
97 Points — Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion
“Finishes minerally and long. Lovely purity, layered richness and vinosity.”
97 Points — Andrew Caillard MW, The Vintage Journal
Region: Tasmania
Sub Region: Coal River Valley
Variety: Pinot Noir
Country: Australia
Vintage: 2024
Style: Dry red
Format: 750 mL
The Wine
Tolpuddle’s Pinot Noir comes from a gentle north-east-facing slope near Richmond in Tasmania’s Coal River Valley. The vineyard was planted in 1988, and Martin Shaw and Michael Hill Smith MW bought it in 2011. Light silica sands sit over sandstone. The cool valley is relatively dry, giving the grapes time to ripen slowly and develop the perfume that has become a hallmark of the site.
After a dry winter in 2024, rain arrived at useful intervals through spring and summer. Mild, sunny conditions allowed the fruit to ripen evenly. The hand-picked grapes fermented in open wooden and stainless steel vats as a mix of whole berries and bunches, with gentle plunging. Dave Brookes notes 50% whole bunches. The wine spent ten months in French oak, about a third new.
Dark cherry and raspberry have depth here, with anise, pepper and a trace of juniper carrying through the wine. The tannins are fine and persistent, and the acidity keeps the fruit moving through a long, savoury finish. Tolpuddle’s cellar guide gives the 2024 a drinking horizon of 2037.
Cellared Says
I’d buy the 2024 for the cellar. Tolpuddle’s perfume always draws me in, and this release has a darker, more savoury side that I’d like to see with some age. The fine grip gives it somewhere to go. If I had a few bottles, I’d open one while the spice and fruit are still out in front and come back to the next around 2029. Following that change is a big part of why I think Tolpuddle is worth collecting.
Reviews
“A cracking release that smells and tastes of a special place.”
97 Points — Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion
“Finishes minerally and long. Lovely purity, layered richness and vinosity.”
97 Points — Andrew Caillard MW, The Vintage Journal
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