January 21, 2024


Tolpuddle Chardonnay and Pinot Noir 2021 release

Tolpuddle Chardonnay and Pinot Noir 2021 release

Tolpuddle has established itself as one of the leading cool climate producers using Burgundian grapes in the new world. Each year the wines of Tolpuddle seem to be getting better and better and it won't be long until they tick over from 98 and 99 points to the perfect 100-point score. In the 2021 release the wines are flirting with perfection. The 2021 vintage was much cooler than usual resulting in smaller berries providing incredible concentration and structure that's tightly wound and precise due to more skin-to-juice ratio. 


The Chardonnay scored a whopping 99 points from Decanter being described as "fresh and ripe with incredible structure, showing quince, candied lemon peel, grapefruit juice and subtle oak". The wine drinks like a Grand Cru Burgundy bringing "restrained pleasure and long-term intellectual provocation" (Decanter).

Pinot Noir followed suit being one point behind with 98 points from Decanter. The score is further supported by 97 points from Huon Hooke of the Real Review as well as being named in Matthew Jukes MW top 100 Best Australian Wines 2022/2023. "There is a power-to-finesse ratio all of its own, and while the perfume appears gentle, harmonious and engaging, there is considerable energy and potential buried deep in this wine’s core" describes Jukes.

With just a handful of cases that usually sell out on release, we advise fans of the wine to stock up sooner rather than later.  

"Clarity, precision and focus that matches up to any top Grand Cru Burgundy. Not for the faint of heart but the fearless." - James Suckling 

"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." - James Suckling


Tolpuddle Chardonnay 2021 (6x75cl)

99 Points | Decanter, Sarah Ahmed MW

Owned since 2011 by Michael Hill Smith MW and Martin Shaw of Shaw & Smith Wines in the Adelaide Hills, the 20ha northeast facing Tolpuddle vineyard occupies a prime position in Tasmania’s Coal River Valley. The pair saw the vineyard’s potential immediately, and have been producing exceptional single-vineyard Chardonnay and Pinot Noir ever since. There was a particularly wet start to 2021 – one of the coolest on record – resulting in much smaller but more concentrated grapes. Harvested by hand, the grapes are whole-bunch pressed then aged in French oak for nine months. Vincenzo Arnese: The nose is fresh and ripe with incredible structure, showing quince, candied lemon peel, grapefruit juice and subtle oak. A lingering acidity completes the frame of this outstanding wine. Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW: A wonder of lightness and precision; a hedonistic mix of immediate restrained pleasure and long-term intellectual provocation. An amazingly subtle and complex finish. I adore this wine. Amanda Barnes: Aromas of gunflint, lavender, lemon peel and wet stones lead into a mouthfilling yet svelte wine with mouthwatering acidity and a long, savoury finish. Will cellar well for more than a decade. Nominated by Sarah Ahmed

 

Tolpuddle Pinot Noir 2021 (6x75cl) 

98 Points | Decanter

A longer, cooler vintage has allowed the sum of all the distinctive site components to marry in ideal balance. It’s all there - pretty aromatics; plush, rounded fruit flavours with some stalky grip adding play to the texture, and a cloak of minerality providing an intriguing counterpoint as fine tannins grip at the finish. It’s alluring, enticing you back to keep reading its complexity.

 

See all wines and vintages available from Tolpuddle.