TOLPUDDLE PINOT NOIR 2022

Winery notes (2022 Vintage)
"A very strong year for Pinot Noir at Tolpuddle. There is complexity and power, balanced by pure fruit notes and cool season spice. It shows powerful fruit, with ripe red cherry, smoked meat, and olive notes, framed by fine but firm tannins. Great length of flavour. An exciting vintage.

The grapes were all hand-picked and fermented as a combination of whole berries and whole bunches, in open fermenters, with gentle pump-overs and plunging. The wine was aged in French oak for ten months, of which about one third was new.

The coldest vintage we have experienced in more than a decade. Cool conditions especially around the time of flowering resulted in a combination of low yields and concentration of flavour. These cooler conditions which persisted throughout the entire growing season culminated in great natural acidity, now synonymous with Tolpuddle Vineyard fruit."

5 Stars & 98/100 Huon Hooke, The Real Review, September 2023 (2022 Vintage)
"Impressively deep, rich purple-red colour, unusual in Australian pinot noir. The bouquet is loaded with black cherry, blackberry and spice aromas, a hint of smoky oak adding charcuterie and fivespice nuances, while the palate is voluptuously full and rich, decadently flavoured, with luxurious flesh and fruit, abundant fine/soft tannins and terrific length. There are some whole-bunch nuances which are beautifully incorporated into the wide array of flavours. A totally convincing and thoroughly impressive Aussie pinot noir to compare with the best in the world. Drink 2023 – 2040."

96/100 Decanter, November 2023 (2022 Vintage)
"Planted in 1988, this cool, northeast-facing vineyard (benefiting from being in a rain shadow) was bought in a spur of the moment decision by cousins Martin Shaw and Michael Hill Smith MW (of Shaw & Smith in the Adelaide Hills) in 2011. This is fermented and matured in oak barrels, about 30% new, using a proportion of whole bunch fruit. Anne Krebiehl MW: Darker fruit, peony petal, Ceylon tea. Translucent and peppery, crunchy, fine tannin: a beautifully marginal Pinot. Justin Knock MW: Beguiling nose, maritime notes, fragrant spices, cumin, red fruits, layers of flavour. Everything is here and in balance. Wonderful. Dirceu Vianna Junior MW: Generous, expressive, ripe red and dark fruits and a hint of leafiness and spice. Elegant and combines lots of ripe juicy fruit with savoury complexity."

96/100 Dave Brookes, James Halliday's Wine Companion (2022 Vintage)
"Tolpuddle has firmly cemented its position at the pointy end of the Tasmanian pinot noir pyramid, consistently producing knockout wines that have become a benchmark for the region. Nothing changes with the 2022 release, which shows wonderful fruit intensity and oodles of pinosity in a graceful package. Lovely pure dark cherry and wild strawberry fruits, cut with exotic spice, charcuterie, roasting game, shiitake broth, amaro herbs, purple floral tones and complex forest floor notes. Textural and elegant yet with an undercurrent of latent power and intensity,a tight tannin frame and a long finish that shows balance and poise. Just wonderful stuff."

95/100 Ned Goodwin MW, JamesSuckling.com (2022 Vintage)
"Very good Tassie pinot. Root spice and earthy forestry notes of dried porcini dashi, autumnal leaves and loganberry, set in relief against a swathe of darker cherry. The spiky whole bunch inclusion is evident across the finish reeling off a whiff of dill and mezcal, yet it is largely buried by the extract and density. This should age very well, as the record at this address attests. Drink or hold. Screw cap."

94+/100 Mike Bennie, The Wine Front, September 2023 (2022 Vintage)
"A racy pinot noir, tense with a sheath of graphite-laced tannin, set to cedary, mahogany oak seasoning as a strong currency, and laced with dark cherry, panforte, hazelnut and twiggy herbs, with a gentle smoky spice element in tow. It drives with its frisky acidity, a feature that keeps the wine refreshing and edgy, reminiscent of wines to be drunk a while down the trail. I liked the wine more with time spent with it, evolving attractively and offering more perfume and flavour as the hours went by. Serious stuff here, for those seeking pinot of firmness and architecture. There’s a fair few primo 2022 pinots from Tasmania out there that seem kind of bony and firm, and this joins the ranks. Structure and seriousness aren’t missed in the wines, but a sense that 2022, from all over the vast Tasmania GI, are a restrained lot. With some air time, this wine opened with some prettiness, so a decant or airtime is ideal. Drink 2025 – 2035+."