Tolpuddle is situated in the Coal River Valley in the south east of Tasmania, where the climate is extreme for viticulture. Rainfall is low, with approximately 500mm per year. This cool but dry climate allows grapes to ripen slowly without disease pressure, resulting in grapes of great aromatic intensity.
The 2024 vintage was one of the best on record in Tasmania.
The 2024 Tolpuddle Vineyard Chardonnay was awarded Australian Wine of the Year in James Suckling’s Top 100 Wines of Australia 2025:-
“Tasmania continues to command the attention and admiration of producers from Australia’s mainland, and few names carry more weight than Michael Hill-Smith and Martin Shaw of Shaw + Smith. Twelve vintages later, Hill-Smith and Shaw have produced perhaps their best wine ever. This is a genuine ‘wow’ wine – you could be forgiven for thinking you were in the grand climats of Burgundy when tasting it. Sitting just on the edge of reduction, its power and minerality are beautifully balanced by a generous, rounded mouthfeel. If there’s a reason Hill-Smith and Shaw are considered one of Australia’s top winemaking teams, this is it.”
“Bright light yellow colour with a whiff or reduction early, which cleared a little to reveal acacia honey, lemon essence and hints of snuffed candle. The wine is precise and refined on the tongue, with great intensity of fruit flavour harmoniously intertwined with refreshing acidity, resulting in a seamless whole that glides very long through the aftertaste. Gorgeous chardonnay, and will be long lived.” 97/100 Huon Hooke, The Real Review
Winemaker tasting notes
Fine and precise with fresh sugar snap pea and fennel, white nectarine and a hint of struck match. There is tension and length on the palate with classic Tolpuddle Vineyard acidity and fine, chalky texture adding complexity and interest. A lesson in elegance and restraint. All fruit was hand-picked, whole bunch pressed, and fermented in French oak. The wine spent ten months in barrel with gentle stirring as required, then rested in tank on lees for a further four months.
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