Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Planted in 1988 and named after the Tolpuddle Martyrs who grew beer hops on the Coal River Valley vineyard, which now makes one of Australia’s most thrillingly mineral, tightly coiled Chardonnays. Mouthwatering flavours of whetstone, struck match, steely grapefruit and nectarine ricochet energetically all the way to the back palate. Great line and length
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James Suckling
What a nose of chalk, crushed stones, slate, vanilla, spices, honeysuckle, sliced apples, quince, dried sage, thyme and a ton of freshly squeezed lemons and limes. The palate’s very edgy with a taut line of acidity, but it fits in so well the stone fruit and flora undertones. Clarity, precision and focus that matches up to any top Grand Cru Burgundy. Not for the faint of heart but the fearless. Drink now or hold. #14 Top 100 Australian Wine of 2018
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 growing season was low yielding but very good, and the savory power here in this glass of 2017 Chardonnay is a thing to behold. It is firmer and more structural than the other wines around it and shows a splay of interwoven phenolics and fruit through the finish that balances the aromatics and the flavors in the mouth, with curry leaf, brine, almond meal, red apple skins, preserved lemon and nutmeg, cinnamon sticks, star anise and fennel flower. Best After 2022
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Vinous
Limpid, green-hued yellow. Intense, mineral- and lees-accented citrus and orchard fruit scents show excellent clarity. Develops hints of honeysuckle and iodine with air and puts on weight as well. Sharply delineated nectarine, Meyer lemon and pear nectar flavors show impressive mineral cut. The mineral quality carries strongly through the finish, which leaves behind suave honeysuckle, anise and toasted brioche notes.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
Directly south of the city of Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula wine region, the cool-climate island of Tasmania has earned an honorable reputation as the country’s finest producer of Sparkling Wine. Naturally the region also excels in top quality still wines from Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Riesling, all distinguished because of a high natural acidity. Most of the Tasmania vineyards cluster around the eastern side of the island from north to south.