At the start of September, Tasmania’s Tolpuddle released its 2023 pinot noir and chardonnay wines from its Coal River Valley vineyard.
The 2023 vintage was the coolest it’s been since Michael Hill-Smith MW and Martin Shaw bought the Tolpuddle vineyard in 2011. Yet while these conditions delayed ripening and harvest, and affected flowering and consequently yields on the chardonnay in particular, the season has resulted in one of Tolpuddle’s most stunning releases to date.
“There’s always a risk when you have a late vintage that you’ll run into trouble somewhere,” says chief winemaker Adam Wadewitz. “But we got lucky in 2023, it ended up as one of the better years and we’re really excited about these wines.”
Lower yields have produced a chardonnay with “real intensity and power,” says Adam. And the pinot noir is one of the best he's made so far. “You always keep improving and learning with pinot,” he says.
The 30ha Tolpuddle vineyard is planted solely to pinot noir and chardonnay, the former making up just over half of plantings and the latter just under. Most of the vineyard, managed by viticulturist Carlos Souris, is farmed organically.
“The thing about great sites is that the more work you put into them, the more they repay you,” says Adam. “We’re seeing that year on year; we’re putting more in, doing our own compost, knowing each vine and what it needs and each block and how to farm it better. It really adds up as the years tick by.”
Tolpuddle has already sold out of the 2023 wines, which Dave Brookes scored 98 and 96 points respectively, and there are over 1000 people on the allocation waiting list. However, if you're quick, you might be able to nab a bottle from a retailer (both online and bricks-and-mortar) or at a restaurant across the country or even internationally.