Tolpuddle Chardonnay 2019

98 Points & Top 100 Wines of 2020 James Halliday
98 Points Nick Stock
98 Points Angus Hughson, Winepilot
97 Points David Sly, Decanter

Tolpuddle Vineyard was established in 1988 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.

In 2006 Tolpuddle Vineyard won the inaugural Tasmanian Vineyard of the Year award, reflecting the performance of this unique and distinguished site.

Martin Shaw and Michael Hill Smith MW purchased the vineyard in 2011 and are fully committed to seeing Tolpuddle Vineyard recognised as one of Australia’s great single vineyards.

“The filigree structure is a study in delicate balance between pure varietal character, site differentiation and winemaker vision. Lean and bony, its fruit is bound in a taut frame of citrus-tinged acidity, yet the finely drawn flavours show unusual intensity and persistence. Keep looking beyond the pastel sketch of white peach and lemon, and deep down there’s struck flint, a hint of seasoned oak, a lick of wet granite – nothing overt, nothing that doesn’t add to the sum of the parts.” –  97 Points David Sly, Decanter.

“A very impressive and seamless Chardonnay that is all class from start to finish. It bursts from the glass with lemon meringue, peach skin and floral aromas that are tight, compact and incredibly focussed, all supported by flinty, spicy oak complexity. The palate is equally explosive – bright and vibrant fruit that is embryonic with crystal clear fruit purity and lifted by savoury smoky, flinty leesy complexity. There is classic creamy chardonnay texture wound up tight by a bolt of Tasmanian acidity to provide the most complete Tolpuddle Chardonnay yet. Immense length tops it off beautifully – a clear candidate for this year’s top Chardonnay” –  98 Points Angus Hughson, Winepilot.

“This has power and complexity and the right grade of reductive flair, overlaid on fresh yellow grapefruit and peach with flint and wet chalk, as well as attractive oak in the background. The palate has mouthwatering white-peach and lemon flavors with a deep draw of acidity that drives the finish in really deep, precise and fresh. Lip-smacking resolve here. Elegance, poise and whip-cracking freshness. Drink over the next six years.” – 98 Points Nick Stock for James Suckling

“A strikingly beautiful chardonnay with its flowery bouquet bearing witness to the sheer purity of the incredibly long palate, the full palette of chardonnay flavours on display. Nectarine, white peach and grapefruit zest are sewn together by an invisible silver thread of acidity.” – 98 Points & Top 100 Wines of 2020 James Halliday