Tolpuddle Vineyard Pinot Noir 2025
The Wine
96 Pts Dave Brookes, Halliday's Wine Companion 'This is a wonderfully expressive pinot noir from one of Tasmania's finest sites. 50% whole bunches in '25, and those filigreed amaro and dried spice elements are woven beautifully into the wine. The fruit base is pure dark cherry, damson plum and wild strawberry fruits, with souk-like spice, dried meats, Chinese barbecue shop, shiitake broth, dried citrus rind, meadow flowers and layers of spice and rocky nuance. It's an immediately attractive wine, with blossoming flavours kept in check by fine, sinewy tannins, taut, mineral-laden acidity and a long draw of flavour on the finish, the wine sailing gracefully and true throughout.
96 Pts Tom Kline, Wine Pilot 'The Coal River Valley had a kind 2025: solid winter rain against the long-term average, flowering through warmish conditions that let fruit set cleanly, and rain arriving exactly when it was needed. Summer stayed mild, running cooler overall than 2024, and both yield and quality followed suit. This cuvée has earned its place as one of the wines that put Tasmanian Pinot on the map – a site expression prized for its power and structure as much as its purity. There’s gorgeous presence to the perfume from the outset, and it’s a stunning mix of pure and perfectly ripe raspberry and mashed strawberry bringing a decidedly red-fruited aesthetic, along with lashings of countervailing woody spice in ground nutmeg and clove. Dried violets, subtle rhubarb and allusions of earthy beetroot sit in the finer detail, culminating in brilliant complexity. There’s volume to the texture and power to the fruit on the palate, with a firm and welcome wrap of chalky tannins constricting the mouth and drawing length. There’s a velveteen feel to this wine – it has good depth of fruit while still flowing through the palate, and the chalky tannins and surging acidity provide excellent frame and carry. There’s also a real sense of cohesion and harmony at such a young age. A very strong release.'
95 Pts Campbell Mattinson 'The ascension of Tolpuddle Pinot Noir continues at speed. This is another superb release; it’s structured, it’s balanced, it’s lengthy and yet – once it has all the credentials of quality covered – it’s also generous, and indeed delicious. This is a Pinot Noir that you want to both stand and admire, and sink into. Plush cherry-plum flavours meet sweet spice, roasted nuts, undergrowth and red roses. You can’t help but be impressed; for flavour, feel and length, this wine has all the angles covered.'
95 Pts Gary Walsh, The Wine Front 'This is spicy and savoury, kind of amaro-laced in a way, with dark cherry and plum, dried rose perfume and exotic spices. It's medium-bodied, a little nutty, quite concentrated, replete with thick ripe tannin, acidity is balanced, finishing with a spray of dried herb and roasted red capsicum spice. A very good release for Tolpuddle. Nice.'
The Details
Variety - Pinot Noir
Country - Australia
Region - Tasmania
Sub Region - Coal River Valley
Extra - Screwcap
Year - 2025
Volume - 750mls
About the Wine Maker 
Back in 2011, Martin Shaw and Michael Hill-Smith AM MW, the duo behind Shaw + Smith in the Adelaide Hills, took a trip to Tasmania expecting nothing more than a pleasant lunch. Along the way, they tasted plenty of wines, but the real gems came from Tolpuddle Vineyard, near Richmond, founded in 1988. The moment they stepped through its gates, they were smitten, and soon it became theirs. These days, Tolpuddle releases its wines each year via a waitlist. Set in south-east Tasmania’s Coal River Valley, just outside the historic village of Richmond and about 20 minutes from Hobart, the vineyard is named for the Tolpuddle Martyrs — British farm workers sent to Australia in the 1830s for trying to start a union. Spanning 20 hectares (50 acres), it’s dedicated entirely to crafting top-notch Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
