Holm Oak Pinot Noir 2022

Holm Oak is located just north of Launceston, in Tasmania's Tamar Valley. Holm Oak is a labour of love for winemaker Bec Duffy and her viticulturist husband Tim Duffy, Since 2007 they have followed their dream of crafting delicious expressions of cool-climate Tasmanian wines. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling are outstanding.

"Finely poised on the palate with a vivid mineral line, silky tannins and pure fruit finishing long, saline and lipsmacking showing excellent balance and tension across its length."  Dave Brookes

"2022 was a relatively mild year, characterised by higher humidity levels and warmer than average nights. This led to our Pinot being well balanced with lovely aromatics, bright fruit and fine tannin structure. Our 2022 Pinot has beautiful dark cherry and strawberry characters on the nose with some earthy, spicey complexity. The palate has fantastic fruit intensity, vibrant acidity and fine silky tannins. 

Several clones of Pinot Noir from many blocks on our Estate vineyard were picked over a two-week period. All batches were destemmed and were wild fermented in small open top fermenters. Ferments were hand plunged up to 4 times a day and then pressed to oak upon dryness. The wine underwent MLF in barrel and was then racked back to barrel for further maturation. 25% new French oak was used (the remainder 1 –4 year old barrels) and the wine was matured in these barrels for 10 months."  Holm Oak   

Expert reviews

"Several pinot noir clones harvested from many blocks across the Holm Oak estate; destemmed, wild ferment, matured for 10 months in French oak (25% new). Ruby red in the glass with aromas of dark cherry, red plum, wild strawberry and raspberry coulis with hints of spice, wildflowers, dried citrus rind, leaf litter and earth. Finely poised on the palate with a vivid mineral line, silky tannins and pure fruit finishing long, saline and lipsmacking showing excellent balance and tension across its length. Drink: 2024-2034."  Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion - 95 points and Special Value Wine  ★ 

"Tamar Valley purity at under $30 - this is a pinot I would happily fill my cellar with. A lovely fragrant bouquet of spiced plum and forest floor leads to a palate with whole-bunch savoury notes alongside a core of juicy plum and berry flavours. The finish is long, fresh and lingering. Great value."  Nick Munday, Canterbury Wines - 95 points and Special Value Wine  ★ 

"Medium-light red-purple colour with spicy whole-bunch-driven aromas, a touch of Campari; lively and intense on the palate with good complexity, the whole-bunch influence is there but not overdone. Light, fine tannins. Drink: 2023-2030."  Huon Hooke, The Real Review - 92 points and Wine of the Week

Awards

Wine of the Week - The Real Review
Special Value Wine – Halliday Wine Companion  ★ 
Special Value Wine – Canterbury Wines  ★  

About the winery

Holm Oak is located just north of Launceston, in Tasmania's Tamar Valley. Holm Oak is a labour of love for winemaker Bec Duffy and her husband Tim Duffy, viticulturalist. Since 2007 they have followed their dream of crafting delicious expressions of cool-climate Tasmanian wines.

Bec Duffy has over 20 years winemaking experience in Australia and the US, while Tim Duffy, a third-generation grape grower and an agronomist with extensive viticultural experience, manages the vineyard, Their complementary skills drive their vision to produce delicious wines that reflect their home, Tasmania's pristine Tamar Valley, and their own personalities – honest, down to earth, genuine and authentic. 

Grape vines were planted in the rich and fertile land in 1983, making Holm Oak one of the older vineyards in Tasmania. Using the original Pinot Noir and Cabernet plantings, they now also cultivate Arneis, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Gris, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc. In total, Holm Oak has 12 hectares under vine.

Holm Oak is a full family affair overseen by general manager Pinot 'd' Pig. Like any good manager, Pinot the Pig wanders around keeping a close eye on the daily operations in the vineyards and winery. Pinot was supposed to be a miniature pig, however has grown to be a full-size team member, with a larger than life personality, and a keen eye (and nose) for detail. Every good manager however, has a weakness – if fed a couple of fresh apples, the worries of General Management fade away and Pinot is inclined to sleep on the job!

"Holm Oak in Tasmania's Tamar Valley gained its name from a planting of oak trees in the 1930s, intended to provide oak for tennis racquets. It came to nothing, and 50 years later 2ha of cabernet sauvignon and 0.4ha of pinot noir were planted.

In 2004 Ian and Robyn Wilson bought the property with a succession plan in place, their daughter Rebecca (Bec) already an experienced winemaker having worked on the mainland and in California. She arrived at Holm Oak in 2006, and the onsite winery was completed just in time for the 2007 vintage.

In the same year Bec's partner, agronomist Tim Duffy, arrived and they set about expanding the vineyard from 6a to 15ha; in pride of place is 7ha of pinot noir, with MV6 clone leading the census, plus D5V12, 114, 115, 777, D4V2 and 521. In 1991, 1ha of riesling had been planted; the balance now includes pinot gris (2ha), chardonnay (1.5ha) and arneis (0.3ha), with smaller plantings making up the remainder.

Prior to the completion of the winery, the wines had been competently contract-made. It's a very different story today, with shoot thinning, leaf plucking (on the western side) and removal of shoulder bunches of pinot noir (if needed). The partnership between winemaker and viticulturist has had multiple synergies, as success has followed success. Then there's the Southern Ocean, a vast air conditioner buffering the heat spikes that are part of summer in the southeastern corner of the mainland.

Sparkling wine used 37% of the total crush, which left pinot noir with 28%, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay and pinot gris in a three-way share of 8% each, riesling the remainder. One simple summary is sparkling, red and white wine, each with a third share. And Tamar Valley is the place to be, with almost 40% of the 2022 crush." James Halliday