Pinot Noir 2020

TOLPUDDLE

Pinot Noir
2020

Country
Australia
Regulated designation
Table wine
Region
Tasmania
Subregion
Tasmania
Varietal(s)
Pinot Noir 100 %
Colour
Red
Producer's website
Click here

About this winery

It is rare that a completely new release comes to market with such universal acclaim. Tolpuddle Vineyards Pinot Noir and Chardonnay have been hailed as "a new benchmark for Australian Pinot Noir" and "a confident, intense dry white in Australia-meets-Chablis mold, revealing the vineyard source and the purity of fruit that that entails, a Michelangelo's David to the many Goliaths out there." Decanter Magazine, JancisRobinson.com and critics Huon Hooke, Anthony Rose, and Jamie Goode have all been...

See the TOLPUDDLE detail page for more information on this brand

Product notes

Tolpuddle Vineyard Pinot Noir reflects the cool maritime climate of Tasmania's Coal River Valley, and the site itself is gently sloping, north-east facing, with light silica over sandstone. The result is a beautifully aromatic and textured Pinot Noir with intensity, power, purity and complexity.

Tasting notes

Intensely aromatic, medium bodied with savoury spice notes, along with purity of varietal expression, fresh acidity and ripe tannins. On the palate, there is a lot of concentrated fruit, balanced by fresh acidity and some fine tannins. Cherry and raspberry notes through to darker blueberry and boysenberry give complexity to a palate that flows seamlessly.

Press reviews

James Suckling

- 99 points -

November 2021

This is a wine we have not yet seen from Tolpuddle. It has such well-curated complexity and whole-bunch influence (40%) sits in the sweet spot. It is concentrated, yet so elegant and the vivid freshness that pervades every aspect of the nose and palate is striking. Aromas of red fruit, such as raspberry, strawberry, red cherry and red plum are framed in spice and fragrance. The palate has such impressive definition and clarity and the tannins are so detailed, fine and clear-cut. Concentrated red and darker cherries are fleshy, yet elegantly focused, and the acidity laces it all up so clearly. So drinkable now and for a decade at least.

See detailed press review
Decanter

- 98 points -

September 2022 (Vintage 2021)

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 detailed press review
Decanter

- 97 points -

January 2020 (Vintage 2018)

Fresh and vibrant; I love the purity - textured, expensive-tasting fruit. Lovely layers and balance, bright and fresh, lingers an age. Raspberries and cream, intense and pretty perfect. (Roger Jones)

See detailed press review
Wine Advocate

- 96 points -

Erin Larkin, January 2025 (Vintage 2023)

This wine was recently shown by a respected Clare Valley winemaker at an options game, and it looked superb. It's so clearly like Tasmanian Pinot Noir fruit but powerful, balanced and sapid in its execution of flavor delivery. It's saturated, in fact. When it was revealed as being the Tolpuddle 2023 Pinot Noir, there were cries around the room of "of course!" and "wow!" To me on that evening, I was particularly impressed by the integration of the whole-bunch component, as I occasionally feel that the use of bunches in this wine can border on overt. In this 2023 iteration, it is clearly evident, but it sits within the confines of the pomegranate/cherry/raspberry fruit with aplomb. Providing further depth of character, a backdrop of star anise, blood orange, coffee grounds, lilac and red apples drive across the palate. This is an enduring wine of sophistication and long-term aesthetic value. 13.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

See detailed press review
James Halliday (Australian Wine Companion)

- 96 points -

September 2024 (Vintage 2023)

A cooler vintage for Tolpuddle with some hen and chicken and lighter bunches due to a wetter-than-normal spring, before excellent ripening conditions for the remainder of the growing season. When compared to the '22 release there is a little more concentration on display. Vibrant, magenta-splashed ruby in the glass with aromas of dark cherry, plum and blackberry fruits with hints of crushed herbs, softly spoken vanillin oak, raspberry coulis, charcuterie board, purple flowers, bay leaf and stone. Rich and flowy with spice, herbal and floral tendrils weaving through the pure base layers of dark fruits. Textural and harmonious with finely crushed riverstone tannins and mineral line providing support and cadence. Another cracking release from Tolpuddle.

See detailed press review
James Suckling

- 96 points -

November 2024 (Vintage 2023)

Deeply perfumed and floral, with aromas of wild blackberries, mulberry bush, violets and wet bark. The palate is finely tuned with seamless tannins, bright acidity and a creamy texture, giving notes of dark cherries, graphite, boysenberries, spices and rose petals. High tension with a savory edge. Incredibly well balanced.

See detailed press review
James Suckling

- 95 points -

June 2019

This is a very driven and complex red with dried-strawberry, tea, coffee and mahogany aromas and flavors. Full-bodied yet integrated and compact, giving the wine a refined and very structured impression. This is one to watch.

See detailed press review
James Suckling

- 95 points -

November 2021 (Vintage 2021)

I love the transparent, floral nose of this beautifully crafted and extremely fresh Tasmanian pinot noir. Fantastic interplay of mineral acidity with fresh black cherry and ripe strawberry fruit on the super-elegant palate. Long, silky and citrusy finish. From the Coal River Valley sub-region of Tasmania. 

See detailed press review
James Suckling

- 95 points -

Ned Goodwin MW, September 2023 (Vintage 2022)

Very good Tassie pinot. Root spice and earthy forestry notes of dried porcini dashi, autumnal leaves and loganberry, set in relief against a swathe of darker cherry. The spiky whole bunch inclusion is evident across the finish reeling off a whiff of dill and mezcal, yet it is largely buried by the extract and density. This should age very well, as the record at this address attests.

See detailed press review
Jancis Robinson

17.5+ Points

October 2022 (Vintage 2021)

Healthy mid crimson. Complex, layered, approachable nose. Smooth and lively and so much more approachable than young red burgundy. Maybe not as concentrated as 2020. Long.

See detailed press review
Wine Advocate

96+ Points

December 2002 (Vintage 2021)

Riffing off the same playbook as the excellent 2020 Pinot Noir, this 2021 Pinot Noir is fine, floral, mineral, structured and if possible, a little more structured and perfect than the 2020. It captures a ductile flow of tannin that shapes the fruit, capturing a glistening display of perfectly ripe, restrained fruit. Together, it makes for a polished, scintillating wine. Exceptional.

See detailed press review