98pts Australian Wine Companion

Another alluring Coal River chardonnay release from the folks at Tolpuddle. It's at once full and concentrated but is reined in by a tight framework of acidity, coiling on rails of minerality before powering across the palate. Tension and detail on point, light textural phenolic elements give it a sleek and silken mouthfeel. The fruit tones of white peach, nectarine and citrus are cloaked in soft spice, white floral tones, struck match, almond paste and crushed stone and the wine displays a stony elegance and seriousness on the long finish. If we were to talk in hushed tones about what would constitute a Tasmanian Grand Cru chardonnay, the Tolpuddle would be the front-runner. Superb.

98pts Bob Campbell

Light bright yellow with a smoky, nutty, barrel fermented bouquet which also packs seaspray/oyster-shell, mixed spices and talcy aromas into the mix. In the mouth it's very intense and focused, tensioned and crisp, without strident acidity but lovely refreshing properties. A superb wine, quietly complex and penetrating, obviously barrel-fermented but not showing too-overt oak. The acidity is bright and refreshing and cleanses the aftertaste. Amazing length. Magical stuff.

98pts Shanteh Wale, Wine Pilot

Strap in folks because you’re about to be schooled on cool climate Chardonnay for theages. This is one of the most talked about Australian Chardonnay’s and whether you like,love or totally FROTH on this wine (hi that’s me) it’s hard to deny its superb pedigree. In the coolest vintage since inception and the 2022 is strutting its stuff, but unlike the showy overt Chardonnays Australia can sometimes produce, this is an artwork of precision. I mean, what can I say that hasn’t already been said? It’s just so bloody scintillating. White nectarine, creamy custard apple, lemon juice squirting from its wedge. Shale and shucked oyster shell, soft meringue peaks and raw Marcona almonds. It’s laser focus line of acidity is ethereal, and the flavour length is what the great wines of the world are made of. It’s a firework of Chardonnay flavour, in fact it’s the waterfall at Sydney’s New Years Eve midnight show. I’ll toast to that. Drink now and if you can get more it will cellar well for up to 10 years.

97pts Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The Tolpuddle Chardonnay is routinely a class act, polished and piercing in every vintage iteration, and somehow delivers a deeply satisfying, comforting flow of flavor atop the more intellectual framing that it is known for. Here, the 2022 Chardonnay leads with white peach and flowers, layers of green apple, saltbush, ocean spray, gently leafy herbs and tobacco to close. In the mouth, the tannins expand to fill the space, creating a capacious feeling—a cavern, almost. Suffice it to say, this is a wonderful wine, again. Gently grippy through the finish, it's totally composed.

96pts James Suckling

Always a very good chardonnay. Often among the New World's best. This said, it is always a pungent, flinty reductive iteration, considerably different to the more generous norm in these parts. Medium-bodied and typically taut, reeling off truffle, leesy oatmeal and white peach notes across a tautly furled, almost gritty climax of praline and hazelnut accents. This will age exceptionally well.

Winemaker Notes

A strong but low yielding vintage for Chardonnay in 2022. On the nose, there is great purity, with florals, lemon, and lime notes. The palate has intensity and flavor but the personality of this wine is defined by its lightness, delicacy, and precision. It has excellent balance, with a crystalline character, fresh acid, and impressive persistence of flavor.

The grapes were all hand picked, whole bunch pressed, and fermented
in French oak. The wine spent nine months in barrel with gentle stirring
as required, then rested in tank on lees.