Decanter Magazine
99/100 punten
White Wine of the Year
Owned since 2011 by Michael Hill Smith MW and Martin Shaw of Shaw & Smith Wines in the Adelaide Hills, the 20ha northeast facing Tolpuddle vineyard occupies a prime position in Tasmania’s Coal River Valley. The pair saw the vineyard’s potential immediately, and have been producing exceptional single-vineyard Chardonnay and Pinot Noir ever since. There was a particularly wet start to 2021 – one of the coolest on record – resulting in much smaller but more concentrated grapes. Harvested by hand, the grapes are whole-bunch pressed then aged in French oak for nine months. Vincenzo Arnese: The nose is fresh and ripe with incredible structure, showing quince, candied lemon peel, grapefruit juice and subtle oak. A lingering acidity completes the frame of this outstanding wine. Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW: A wonder of lightness and precision; a hedonistic mix of immediate restrained pleasure and long-term intellectual provocation. An amazingly subtle and complex finish. I adore this wine. Amanda Barnes: Aromas of gunflint, lavender, lemon peel and wet stones lead into a mouthfilling yet svelte wine with mouthwatering acidity and a long, savoury finish. Will cellar well for more than a decade.

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
98/100 punten
I was shocked at the intensity of the 2021 Chardonnay when I first tasted it. How could a wine so young have this much flavor? It is polished, glassy and graceful. It unfurls in the mouth and soars long over the horizon. It's balanced and powerful, crouching at this early stage, but all the building blocks of greatness are here. A wine of extension, expansion and elegance—a formidable trio.

Real Review
98/100 punten
Pale lemon-yellow hue. Powerful aromatic lift with lemon curd and serious gun-smoke reduction. Palate is an exercise in power with finesse: lemon-balm core, with a multitude of complexing layers—smoky bacon, struck flint, cashew and spices... the list goes on. But amongst all that, it remains light on its feet and drives fresh and long almost forever to the finish.

James Haliday
98/100 punten
Special Value
Another wine worthy of the 10-year anniversary Tolpuddle celebrated this year. Hand picked, whole-bunch pressed and fermented in French oak with nine months' maturation in barrel. Pale straw in the glass with wonderfully ripe and focused white peach, nectarine and citrus notes dotted with notes of clotted cream, soft spice, struck match, crushed stone, almond paste, white flowers and cashew-like oak. It seems more precise this year, yeah? Coiled and mesmerisingly complex, those alluring sulphide notes a siren for this particular sailor, drawing me back to the glass. The finish is long and true, framed by a porcelain acidity that provides a killer cadence, driving the wine forward. This release is a ripper and cements Tolpuddle's place in the upper echelon of Australian chardonnay producers.

James Suckling.
97/100 punten
I like the slate, flint and stone aromas to the sliced apples and white dried pineapple. Lemon curd. Some honeysuckle, too. Full-bodied, with creamy texture and extremely long finish. Complete and beautiful. So well crafted. Drink or hold.

Jancis Robinson
17,5+/20 punten
Fabulous tension on the nose. And a very broad, satisfying fruit that really fills in every space on the palate. Best yet!

Decanter Magazine
98/100 punten
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.

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
96+/100 punten
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

Huon Hooke
97/100 punten
Excellent depth of red with a strong purple tint, the bouquet black cherry, meaty/charcuterie and mossy undergrowth, while the palate is full and strong, with richness and fleshy extract aplenty, a powerful wine with tannins that are assertive and long. A subtle stalky whole-bunch note on the follow-through. A solidly built pinot of impressive concentration and real substance

James Haliday
96/100 punten
Special Value
It's hard to believe that Tolpuddle celebrated its 10th anniversary this year, but I remember being impressed by the wines at the launch, and I still await each release with a similar enthusiastic impatience. This year’s looks good already: perfumed macerated strawberry and raspberry notes with some dark cherry and boysenberry in the bass. There are hints of Chinese five-spice, rhubarb, mushroom broth, sous bois, forest floor and rain falling on turned earth, with perhaps just a whiff of struck flint in the distance. The whole-bunch component here is beautifully judged, the palate shape sleek and possessing ample tension and grace, gentle tannin support weighing in as the wine sails away into the distance. Seamless drinking now but will reward those with patiences.

James Suckling.
95/100 punten
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. Drink or hold.

Jancis Robinson
17,5+/20 punten
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