Tolpuddle Vineyard Chardonnay 2020

Trophy for Best Young White - 2021 Royal Melbourne Wine Show
Trophy for Best Chardonnay - 2021 Royal Melbourne Wine Show
Trophy for Best Single Vineyard Wine - 2021 Royal Melbourne Wine Show
Trophy for Best Australian White Wine - 2020 International Wine Challenge
Trophy for Best Australian Chardonnay - 2020 International Wine Challenge
James Halliday Top 100 Wines of 2021
James Suckling Top 100 Wines of Australia 2021

Martin Shaw and Michael Hill Smith MW (Shaw & Smith) purchased the vineyard in 2011after a look-and-see jaunt to Tasmania when they became smitten by Tolpuddle's Coal Valley location and mature vines, planted only to pinot noir and chardonnay. They are fully committed to seeing Tolpuddle Vineyard recognised as one of Australia's great single vineyards.  

"A strikingly beautiful chardonnay with its flowery bouquet bearing witness to the sheer purity of the incredibly long palate, the full palette of chardonnay flavours on display. Nectarine, white peach and grapefruit zest are sewn together by an invisible silver thread of acidity."  James Halliday

In barely a decade, Tolpuddle has established itself as one of the country's top producers. It produces wines of blistering precision and finesse which have received rave critical acclaim. They are highly sought-after and are some of the finest examples of chardonnay and pinot noir that can be found anywhere on the Apple Isle.

"If ever a new winery was born with blue blood in its veins, Tolpuddle would have to be it."  James Halliday

"This wine shows white floral and lemon barley notes on the nose. Classic Tolpuddle backbone of acidity, yellow grapefruit, lemon pith, and some flinty minerality. A combination of lightness, delicacy, texture, and extract. A touch of lees derived shortbread flavour adds complexity. This wine has a great future.

2020 Vintage: Good soil moisture from July and August rains meant the season started well. Cool and windy weather during flowering resulted in small bunch sizes, giving low crops with increased concentration and intensity. February saw even ripening and a rainfall event three weeks before harvest slowed the season down, resulting in fruit that was packed with flavour."  Tolpuddle

Expert reviews

"This really asserts itself at the top echelon of chardonnay, in a context that extends far beyond the shores of the tiny island state of Tasmania. Already in such a great place, with aromas of white peach, lemon, lemon curd and very precisely curated sulphides adding interest. There's wet chalk, lemon peel and gentle hazelnutty oak in play as well. The palate has seamless, layered and fresh citrus and peach flavors, as well as a stream of pithy grapefruit and peach on offer. Acidity holds the finish long and true. This is one of the most elegant vintages of this wine, reminiscent of the 2014. Oak chimes in so subtly on the finish. Drink or hold."  James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com - 99 points and Top 100 Wines of Australia 2021

"Tolpuddle is cementing its place in the great regional chardonnays of Australia, with its piercing purity and intensity reflecting its great Richmond vineyard. Its impact on the aftertaste has no equal, leaving you rooted to the spot. Tolpuddle doesn't waste great vintage opportunities. Drink to 2033."  James Halliday, The Weekend Australian - 98 points and Top 100 Wines of 2021

"This 2020 Chardonnay doesn't have the unbridled rawness of the 2018 or 2019, but it does retain the pure core of fruit and acidity. Each component of this wine is interwoven with the others, resulting in a natural glide across the tongue. The phenolics of this wine are most attractive to me—a return to the glorious open weave texture of the sublime 2013 vintage, which allows you to sort of sink your teeth in and move the wine around in the mouth after it's gone. Pronounced curry leaf and brine characters are here, along with preserved lemon and salinity. I love this painful little wine—it is salty and moreish, and it stings... almost. Pleasurable to the max. Drink: 2022-2040."  Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate - 97+ points

"This thrilling single vineyard Chardonnay from Michael Hill-Smith and Martin Shaw of Shaw & Smith has regularly featured in my top recommendations in Decanter and on this website.  The 2020 vintage bagged three or four trophies at the Royal Melbourne Show, said Connew, another Coal River Valley grower who reckons 'nervy acidity is really what the Coal River Valley is all about.'  It has terrific tension and minerality to the nose and palate (I always think of it as Riesling-like), with deftly judged struck match  reduction, scintillating acidity and whetstone to the salted lemon and lime flavours.  Penetrating, taut and long, with steely grapefruit, lemon peel and a kiss (brush) of nougat to the finish.  A 'Grand Cru' wine and, quite rightly, priced accordingly."  Sarah Ahmed, The Wine Detective

"Very light yellow colour, with a powerful smoky, toasty bouquet, lots of struck-flint character. The wine is tightly focused and lively on the tongue, with bright acidity and penetrating length. A superb, piercingly-tensioned chardonnay with cool-climate precision, finesse and length. Drink: 2021–2032."  Huon Hooke, The Real Review - 97 points

"Plenty of oak spice and smoke on the nose, then a palate dominated by an intense, smoky, saline character sitting on top of green apple fruit with a mealy texture coming through behind. Savoury, energetic and serious, propelled forwards and upwards by its piercing acidity."  Gabriel Stone, Falstaff - 97 points

"Coal River is proving itself to be one of Australia's great cool regions. This is positively alluring, its acidity is vibrant and the fruit is electrifying and refreshing with a delightful nutty, bready warmth on the finish."  International Wine Challenge 2020 - 97 points

"The 9th release, from vines planted 1998 in the Coal River Valley. A small crop, from a cool harvest. Hand picked; fermented and matured 10 months in French oak barrels with gentle bâtonnage. The concentration from a small crop contrasts the tension of this cool site with grand stature and presence. The carefully tuned gunflint of barrel fermentation backs a core of pure grapefruit and lemon, backed emphatically with crystalline acidity and the finely textured, creamy structure of lees age and bâtonnage. Dreamy line and length. Drink by 2030."  Tyson Stelzer, Halliday Wine Companion - 96 points

"From Tasmania's southeastern Coal River Valley, Tolpuddle has cemented its reputation as one of Australia's most revered single vineyards. The winery's Chardonnay style is a rich, Burgundian expression, leaning fairly heavily into reductive, struck match, flint and roasted nut territory. But it never goes too far. The delicate white peach and preserved lemon notes are what tip it back into balance. The palate is mouthfilling but lifted by pristine acidity. A lick of hazelnut oak supports without dominating, and a toasty, saline finish lingers long in the mouth. A classy and distinctive Chard with a long life ahead. Drink now–2037."  Christina Pickard, Wine Enthusiast – 95 points

Awards

Trophy for Best Young White - 2021 Royal Melbourne Wine Show
Trophy for Best Chardonnay - 2021 Royal Melbourne Wine Show
Trophy for Best Single Vineyard Wine - 2021 Royal Melbourne Wine Show
Trophy for Best Australian White Wine - 2020 International Wine Challenge
Trophy for Best Australian Chardonnay - 2020 International Wine Challenge
Top 100 Wines of 2021 - James Halliday
Top 100 Wines of Australia 2021 - James Suckling

About the winery

Tolpuddle Vineyard was established in 1988 by Bill Casimaty, Gary Crittenden and Tony Jordan and it took its name from the Tolpuddle Martyrs: English convicts transported to Tasmania for forming an agricultural union. The leader of the Martyrs, George Loveless, served some of his sentence working on a property near Richmond, part of which is now Tolpuddle Vineyard. The vineyard is planted with mature Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vines, facing north-east, and sloping gently up from Back Tea Tree Road. The soil is light silica over sandstone and of moderate vigour, ensuring well-balanced vines producing grapes of great flavour and intensity. 

Martin Shaw and Michael Hill Smith MW (Shaw & Smith) purchased the vineyard in 2011after a look-and-see jaunt to Tasmania when they became smitten by Tolpuddle's Coal Valley location and mature vines, planted only to pinot noir and chardonnay. They are fully committed to seeing Tolpuddle Vineyard recognised as one of Australia's great single vineyards.  

In barely a decade, Tolpuddle has established itself as one of the country's top producers. It produces wines of blistering precision and finesse which have received rave critical acclaim. They are highly sought-after and are some of the finest examples of chardonnay and pinot noir that can be found anywhere on the Apple Isle.