Tolpuddle Vineyard Chardonnay 2023 750ml

Product Info

96pts Vinous Media
The 2023 Tolpuddle Chardonnay is a steely and tense expression that delivers powerful and highly focussed aromas of citrus and florals with a peach skin highlight. Fine French oak sits in the perfect place. Excellent density of youthful flavor follows, with flinty, delicatessen-like tones holding firm over a strong, long, adolescent finish. This is a keeper that needs another decade to hit its peak. Drinking Window 2030 - 2038 - By Angus Hughson on June 2025

95pts Wine Advocate
The 2023 Chardonnay is precise and firm, with salty fruit and a spool of tense acidity that spirals through the finish. It's very long and very good, although raw at this inchoate stage of its development. I love this wine each year. The saline thread of acidity really extends out through the finish, like casting a fishing rod over a still lake; the sound of the reel is akin to the extension of the acidity across the palate. The bouquet speaks so clearly of sage, salted cashews, green apple, white peach and pressed lavender. This is a beautiful wine, one that is tightly coiled at this stage. I'd recommend buying what you can but waiting another year or more to open the bottles, such is the potential here. 13.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap. Drink Date: 2027 – 2038 Published: Jan 02, 2025 Reviewed by: Erin Larkin

Terroir
Tolpuddle Vineyard sits in Tasmania’s Coal River Valley, a cool, dry, coastal region shaped by steady southern winds and long, luminous daylight hours. This is one of Australia’s most precision-driven Chardonnay terroirs, defined by ancient, low-vigour soils composed of light silica-based sands over clay. These soils drain rapidly yet hold just enough moisture to encourage vines to root deeply, resulting in naturally low yields of small, highly concentrated berries.

The maritime influence is essential here. Cool breezes preserve acidity, slow ripening, and allow flavor development at lower sugar levels, giving the fruit a crystalline purity and finely etched structure. The 2023 growing season mirrored many of Tasmania’s best vintages: mild days, cool nights, and a long, even ripening cycle that allowed Chardonnay to achieve perfect phenolic maturity while retaining tension. What stands out from this site—and this vintage in particular—is how vividly the wine reflects the valley’s hallmark minerality, citrus drive, and understated power.

Winemaking & Technical Notes
Tolpuddle’s approach to Chardonnay is minimalist yet intentional, aiming to translate terroir rather than overshadow it. The fruit is handpicked at optimal ripeness, ensuring a balance of brightness and depth. Whole-bunch pressing is carried out gently to protect aromatics and limit phenolic harshness, followed by natural fermentation in French oak barrels of varying ages.

The élevage includes a thoughtful mix of new and seasoned oak—never heavy-handed—to lend subtle toast, structure, and creamy finesse. Lees contact adds texture but is managed delicately; rather than aggressive stirring, the approach leans toward allowing the wine to build complexity naturally over time in barrel. Malolactic fermentation is allowed to proceed partially or spontaneously, depending on the lot, preserving tension while softening acidity just enough to broaden the palate.

The resulting wine is shaped by restraint and precision: bright, coiled, shimmering with energy, yet layered and texturally compelling.

Tasting Notes
The 2023 Tolpuddle Chardonnay bursts from the glass with the signature aromatic clarity of Coal River Valley fruit. Lemon zest, white peach, and green apple lead the profile, wrapped in more subtle notes of lime blossom, crushed oyster shell, and cool wet stone. With air, the bouquet expands to include hints of brioche, raw almond, and a whisper of flint—suggestive of both site and its measured oak influence.

On the palate, the wine is both taut and expressive. A core of citrus—grapefruit pith, lemon curd, and tangerine skin—interacts beautifully with firmer mineral tones. The mid-palate carries a sense of quiet richness: delicate creaminess from lees, gentle roundness from partial malo, and fine textural weight without ever tipping into heaviness. Subtle white nectarine and golden apple notes weave through a firm mineral line, adding depth and dimension.

The finish is long, pure, and saline, leaving impressions of citrus oil, crushed stone, and delicate spice. It is a wine of great focus and ageworthy structure, driven by acidity yet softened by impeccable balance. With time, it promises to broaden and deepen, gaining hazelnut, sourdough, honey, and more layered stone-fruit complexity.

Food Pairing & Service
This Chardonnay’s combination of tension, minerality, and finely wrought texture makes it exceptionally versatile at the table. It pairs beautifully with delicately prepared seafood—think scallops seared in butter, poached lobster, oysters, or grilled white fish with lemon and herbs. The wine’s acidity cuts gracefully through dishes with a bit more richness, such as roast chicken with thyme, creamy shellfish pastas, or savory tarts with goat cheese or leeks.

For vegetarian pairings, consider spring vegetable risotto, roasted fennel, or citrus-infused salads with toasted nuts. Its mineral backbone also complements sashimi, particularly tuna or kingfish, where purity of flavor aligns perfectly with the wine’s clarity.

Serve slightly chilled, around 50–54°F, to allow the aromatics to unfold without muting the wine’s textural elegance. While already stunning upon release, it will develop beautifully over the next 7–12 years, gaining depth and smoky, nutty complexity while retaining the precision that defines Tolpuddle’s style.