Freddy R. Troya

9.3

Tolpuddle Vineyard Pinot Noir 2023
Coal River Valley, Tasmania, Australia 🇦🇺

Overview
A thrilling first encounter with Tasmanian Pinot Noir, vivid, ultra-fresh, and beautifully lifted. This cool-climate expression leans into precision and energy rather than weight, delivering juicy purity without drifting into jamminess. Lightly chilled, it absolutely sang in the glass, showing how Tasmania is quietly carving out a serious identity for elegant, high-definition Pinot Noir.

Aromas & Flavors
Bright dark cherry, cola spice, and fresh red-black berry fruit lead the aromatics, layered with subtle floral lift and a hint of forest freshness. On the palate, juicy cherry, cranberry skin, and gentle baking spice glide effortlessly, keeping everything lively, transparent, and beautifully balanced without heaviness.

Mouthfeel
Light to medium-bodied with vibrant acidity and silky, flowing texture. Energetic, refreshing, and wonderfully agile, the wine literally dances across the palate, especially when served slightly chilled.

Food Pairings
Roast chicken or duck with herbs. Grilled salmon or tuna. Mushroom risotto or lentil dishes. Charcuterie boards with soft cheeses. Asian-inspired dishes with light soy or ginger notes.

Verdict
A joyful, eye-opening Pinot Noir that delivers freshness, precision, and pure drinkability. Not jammy, not heavy, just beautifully expressive cool-climate Pinot with real personality. A reminder that Tasmania deserves serious attention on the global Pinot stage.

Did You Know?
Coal River Valley is one of Tasmania’s coolest and driest wine regions, benefiting from long daylight hours, cool nights, and maritime influence, ideal conditions for preserving acidity, aromatics, and finesse in Pinot Noir. Commercial vineyard plantings here only began in the late 1980s, making it a young but rapidly rising region.

🍷 Personal Pick
This was pure discovery joy for me, lightly chilled, insanely fresh, and dangerously easy to love. Exactly the kind of wine that makes you rethink what Pinot can be outside the usual Burgundy and Oregon lanes. — 5 months ago

Gabby

9.0

Pall mall with kenlee mike and Rachel. Felt like drinking Tasmanian cause we’re back in Singapore! Super dry for a Sauvignon Blanc, mineraly, oak which is why i didn’t expect it to be a Sauvignon Blanc — 3 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.4

Mid crimson in colour - almost transparent. Red fruited with typical Huon Valley perfume - earthy, Sous Bois, mushroom - sweet and savoury characters on the palate. Finely textured (Chairman’s Trophy - 2020 Tasmanian Wine Show). There is a Reserve Cuvée which is richer still. Had another bottle 63 weeks later on 1st August 2024 with similar notes. Always rich and delicious. I can see why it won the Chairmans Trophy in Tasmania. Had another bottle on 21st June 2025 with similar notes. Luscious, mouth filling and delicious. — 3 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.2

Notes of Toffee Apple initially - a little reductive to begin with. Pale dirty crimson - transparent in parts - quite Burgundian in colour. A light to medium weight palate but Medium intensity. Like a good Village, verging on Premier Cru. Interesting and tasty but needing about 4 or 5 years more to develop complexity. Jim Chatto is regarded as one of Australia’s best winemakers having been in charge at Mt Pleasant in the Hunter Valley and now running his own show in Tasmania. Had a 2nd bottle 147 weeks later on 9th August 2025 - very pale Ruby in colour. Confectionery red fruit, jubey nose and palate. Sweet and savoury simultaneously. An excellent Tasmanian Pinot Noir. Had the last bottle on 12th April 2026. Very satisfying. — 4 years ago

Nick Damiano

9.3

Very nice, cherry, strawberry, chocolate, a little bit of tannins and acidity. Great pairing with Tasmanian lamb. — 6 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.0

Saturday lunch at home with friends. All tasters very impressed with this Village Bourgogne from the 2014 vintage which was excellent for whites. Great intensity and tension for a village wine. Good minerality. No time for detailed notes. Went well with fresh Tasmanian oysters. — 7 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.5

Top flight Tasmanian Chardonnay from Tolpuddle in the Coal River made and owned by Shaw and Smith. A logistical challenge shipping the grapes from Tasmania to the Adelaide Hills in refrigerated containers to Shaw and Smith HQ where the grapes are crushed and vinified. Initially the wine is lean when tasting - perhaps a little young. Lemon and grapefruit fruit notes and barrel ferment characters with a 10 year life ahead. My first of 3. The next in 3 to 5 years by which time I expect more stone fruit textures to be apparent. 98 points from Huon Hooke. — 9 months ago

David White

9.4

What can I add - just read @Bob McDonalds notes
Excellent Tasmanian Pinot — a year ago

Bob McDonald

9.7

See 2 previous notes from 2019 and 2022. Rich red and black fruits with Raspberry Strawberry Red Cherry and Black Cherry. A cool tasting Pinot (temperature). Barely medium weight but with great palate intensity. The remaining few will still be kicking in 3 plus years but as I said in the earlier notes the wow factor was there when it was young and I tried it at the Tasmanian Pinot Extravaganza in Launceston approximately 5 years ago. I had the last one 2 years later on 23rd August 2025. Gorgeous aromatics and palate. Still a gold medal wine around 96 or 97 points. — 3 years ago

Cody LaRocque

9.4

My first Tasmanian wine. Light. — 4 years ago

Jay Kline

9.0

Popped and poured. The Clover Hill Rosé pours a pale salmon color that’s hardly discernible as rosé at first though, it does seem to deepen a bit with air. White peach, raspberries, pink lady apples, and minerals. The wine is round but attractive and there’s ample acid to provide balance. Paired very well with homemade chicken noodle soup. — 4 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.6

Very dark Crimson particularly for a cool climate Tasmanian Cabernet. Aromas of dark plum, clove, tobacco leaf and oak spice on the nose with a medium to full bodied palate with dusty plum and integrated oak - perfect balance. Seamless with resolved tannin and finishing with persistent length. Matured in 100% French oak Barriques. After a couple of hours in the decanter a lovely left bank perfume of rose bush and brambles. A wonderful Cabernet (90%) by any measure and a fitting tribute to Peter Althaus, the founder, who passed away unexpectedly in early January aged 79 in his native Switzerland. I like many others said that Tasmania was too cool to ripen Cabernet Sauvignon but Peter Althaus proved us all wrong. Vale Peter. — 5 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.1

Very pale lemon in colour. Tasted after the Premier Cru Hubert Lamy and similar in many ways - the texture, the acid, the citrus the subdued oak influence, but not as much minerality or salinity. Made by Sue Bell at her Bellwether winery in Coonawarra from Chardonnay grapes from the Tamar River in Tasmania. A good wine in the leaner style - showing the quality of Tasmanian Chardonnay. Consistent notes 88 weeks later on 9th December 2020. Chablisesque. Grapefruit notes. Still bracing acidity. — 7 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.6

Pale crimson in colour - nearly transparent. Has that luscious mouthfeel typical of many Tasmanian Pinot. Great palate intensity. Cherry with some stemmy herbal notes. One of those wines where the pale colour doesn’t prepare you for the profound palate intensity. Only 20% whole bunches in the ferment which shows sensitive intuitive winemaking. Winner of the Trophy for the best Pinot Noir at Royal Adelaide and also at Royal Hobart Wine Shows. Incredible value for such a highly awarded wine: 6 bottles @ $39.95 each. Luckily I have 3 bottles left. Plan to have one each year - 2027, 2028 and 2029. I didn’t see this note and had another bottle 14 weeks later on 25th November 2025. This Pinot is a class act. — a year ago

Ceccherini Cristiano

9.4

Recommended by my friend David at the Ferry Rd shop.
Never heard of this or the Decades either.
Great example of why they have started to talk so highly about Tasmanian Pinot Noir.
Wild fermented, partly whole bunch and minimal sulphites added.
Definitely not as powerful as a pinot from Central Otago, but more subtle. Very focused too.
A bit more like a Volnay let me dare
Not cheap, but worth every cents
$67 on the shelf.
I would love to show these wines in Italy to my friends that honestly have no chance to know it.
Don't grab just one bottle like i did... — a year ago

Bob McDonald

9.4

Very identifiable as Tasmanian Pinot - this one from the Coal River and the high performing Pooley Wines. Last tasting note here was way back 153 weeks ago. Red fruited - drinking this early in its drinking window. Light to medium weight - lovely Tassie purity. Fine tannins. — 3 years ago

Gabby

9.7

Burnt ends - what a fucking cool Tasmanian Chardonnay! Super mineral and fruity. Kind of too oaky at first but it mellowed and it was beautiful. The sommelier told me it was close to a Chablis premier cru because the soil is mostly@limestone. — 3 years ago

Douglas Braun

8.9

Really interesting Tasmanian Riesling dried apricot, honey, burnt orange zest, barely enough acid to hang on to the R.S. — 5 years ago

Rufus King

9.0

Devilishly refined Tasmanian bubbly, with notes of citrus and green apple, at the City Winery, Boston — 6 years ago

Dave Olson

9.1

Very nice Tasmanian Pinot noir. Who would have thought? Nice body, well balanced — 7 years ago