Tolpuddle Vineyard Pinot Noir 2016

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.  

"The 2016 Pinot Noir is lovely. Tasmania is capable of a glossy kind of abundance when it comes to Pinot Noir fruit—it's never overt, but it has a plentitude about it. This is the perfect example of that ample, enveloping potential. The good and tempering aspect here is the cage of tannins created by the whole bunch that holds the fruit in place and discourages it from straying off the path. A super wine. So lovely."  Erin Larkin

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 is true to the Tolpuddle Vineyard Pinot Noir style: intensely aromatic, balanced with savoury spice notes from whole bunch fermentation, along with purity of varietal expression, fresh acidity  and firm tannins. The 2016 vintage is very perfumed, medium bodied and approachable. The grapes were all hand-picked and fermented as a combination  of whole berries and whole bunches, in open fermenters, with gentle plunging. Will repay careful cellaring for up to 12 years.

All hand-picked fruit is fermented as a combination of 40% whole bunches and the remainder whole berries, in open fermenters, with gentle plunging. The wine is then aged in French barrique for ten months, of which about one third was new. " Tolpuddle 

Expert reviews

"Hand-picked, whole berries and whole bunches open-fermented with gentle plunging. A wine that explains the love at fist sight when the Tolpuddle partners saw the vineyard. It comes flying through the weather of the vintage that trapped others with a highly perfumed red flower bouquet and into a layered palate reflecting the whole bunch/whole berry fermentation, spicy, savoury, foresty notes form a laurel wreath on the fruit, the oak integrated."  James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion - 95 points

"And into the murky depths we travel. That lightness, that insistence, that riot of spice. It puts its cards on the table in take-it-or-leave-it fashion. It’s a wily, wiry wine, smoky and herbal, spun with tannin, fleshed with cranberry and red cherry, long through the finish. There’s a glimpse of jellied sweetness but blink and you miss it – before you know it, ash and dry twig notes have wrestled back control. This is an immensely cellarable style of pinot noir though, equally, it is an openly polarising one. Drink: 2020 - 2026+."  Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front - 95 points

"The 2016 Pinot Noir is lovely. Tasmania is capable of a glossy kind of abundance when it comes to Pinot Noir fruit—it's never overt, but it has a plentitude about it. This is the perfect example of that ample, enveloping potential. The good and tempering aspect here is the cage of tannins created by the whole bunch that holds the fruit in place and discourages it from straying off the path. A super wine. So lovely. Drink: 2022-2032."  Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate - 94 points

"50% whole-bunch fermentation. Big crop with bigger berries and bigger bunches than usual. Pale garnet. Low-key gentle nose. Lots of energy here! Really racy and refined. Great purity."  Jancis Robinson MW - 17.5/20 points

About the winery

Tolpuddle Vineyard was established in 1988by 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 2011 after 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.

The following text is taken from an article by Jasper Morris that appeared in Inside Burgundy

What began as reconnaissance for Shaw and Hill Smith back in 2011 quickly metamorphosed into profound intrigue thanks in large part to a dinner with industry friends. In this case, it was at the Launceston institution of Stillwater in northern Tasmania with Andrew Pirie – a legend of Tasmanian wine – and veteran winemaker Peter Dawson. The ever-academic Pirie referred to his laptop as he apprised the table of Tasmania’s climatic mapping and data. This was critical information as it informed the pair of just how dry the Coal River Valley was, having made the common assumption that cool equalled wet. The combination of cool and dry added to the allure on account of the long ripening period with slow flavour development and low disease pressure during the growing season. Following some good bottles over dinner, including several from Tasmania, Dawson piqued further interest by declaring that "Tasmania would be making Australia’s best Chardonnay and Pinot Noir within the next decade". 

"We’ve got to have this" were the collective words uttered by cousins Martin Shaw and Michael Hill Smith MW upon entry to the Tolpuddle Vineyard site in 2011. The intangible knowing. The feeling in the bones. But what led them down the right path? "We had no intention of buying a vineyard", says Shaw 14 years on as we amble the long, even, north-east facing slope. It’s an idyllic and resplendent blue sky day in the Coal River Valley, around 30 minutes’ drive north east of Hobart. And despite the moderate 25 degree heat, there’s a bite to the bright sunshine on account of the clear skies, low humidity and high UV of southern Tasmania.

Shaw’s casual utterance speaks to the impulsive and serendipitous nature of their Tolpuddle Vineyard purchase, and it’s difficult to fathom how easily it could’ve been missed given the indelible mark it’s made on Tasmanian – indeed Australian – wine.  This was during a time when Tasmanian Chardonnay and Pinot Noir was starting to make waves on the Australian wine media circuit, such that it prompted a reconnaissance trip south from the Shaw + Smith stables in the Adelaide Hills where the two had risen to vinous fame. 

"The Coal River Valley is cold but dry", continues Shaw, "it’s cooler than Burgundy but warmer than Champagne". The dryness is evident. There’s been little rain in the Valley for months now which is normal given Tasmania’s winter-dominant rainfall. However, this is compounded in the Coal River Valley by a rain shadow effect thanks to the mountains to the west, making it one of the driest regions on the island.

Further visits ensued, including a pivotal one to Accolade-owned Bay of Fires, where then-winemaker Peter Dredge presented barrel samples from vineyards across Tasmania that supplied fruit to Accolade. The wines that excited the pair most came from the Tolpuddle Vineyard which Accolade were using for premium offerings such as Eileen Hardy Chardonnay and House of Arras sparkling wines. The culmination of this was the all-important visit to the site that captured the two so viscerally.

The potential for greatness in a table wine capacity was evident to Shaw and Hill Smith – the forest above, the water below, the long and even Burgundian-like slope in between. What’s more, the valley’s cool climate provided insulation from the looming threats of global warming. With their eyes squarely on the prize, the two set about negotiating acquisition of a site not for sale and – spoiler alert – were quick to succeed. But changes were required to take the site in the desired direction. Certain sparkling-specific clones were replaced with more suitable alternatives, pruning was changed from spur to cane, drainage was improved, frost protection was implemented via a new dam (after having been assured frost wasn’t part of the program!) and mid-row soil was ripped to alleviate compaction. With soils made up of light silica over sandstone, water retention is poor, so composting was implemented upon taking over the site along with undervine clover to keep things cool and assist in holding moisture - critical in this dry terroir. Following further plantings, the vineyard is now 31 hectares with an approximate 50/50 split between Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Around the time of the Tolpuddle Vineyard purchase, Shaw and Hill Smith had been trying to entice star winemaker Adam Wadewitz to join the Shaw + Smith team. Wadewitz was winemaker at Best’s Great Western in Victoria at the time, and it was the prospect of working with fruit from the Tolpuddle Vineyard that is said to have sealed the deal. With the inaugural 2012 wines made by Martin Shaw, Wadewitz took over from the 2013 vintage and has excelled with the site ever since.

The Chardonnay is whole bunch pressed, fermented in French barriques and generally sees 100% malolactic fermentation given the bracing southern-Tasmanian acidity. It then spends nine or ten months in barrel with around 30% new. Pinot Noir sees around 30% to 40% whole bunch and around ten months in barriques with 30-35% of it new.