Described by Decanter as “arguably Tasmania's most valued and important site”, Tolpuddle Vineyard was purchased by Martin Shaw and Michael Hill Smith MW in 2011, after an eventful road trip on the island. During the trip, they asked famed local winemaker Peter Dredge to organise a tasting of Tasmania's best wines and quickly discovered their favourites came from the Tolpuddle Vineyard. Before their trip was through, the duo became the proud owners of a vineyard that would continue to define fine Tasmanian winemaking.

Based in the Coal River Valley, Tolpuddle Vineyard was planted in 1988 by industry legends Tony Jordan and Garry Crittenden. The vineyard takes its name from the Tolpuddle Martyrs, who were exiled to Australia in 1834 for starting an agrarian union in Tolpuddle in Dorset. The group leader, George Loveless, served some of his sentence working on a property near Richmond called GlenAyr, part of which is now the Tolpuddle Vineyard.

A combination of its north-facing aspect, and positioning within a rain shadow, ensures the vineyard remains cool and dry throughout the growing season, minimising disease pressure and helping achieve optimal ripeness. Alongside talented winemaker Adam Wadewitz and viticulturist Murray Leake, Michael and Martin have spent the past decade using the lessons learned in the Adelaide Hills to replant and re-trellis this outstanding site to produce better and better wines.

The wines from Tolpuddle Vineyard are a masterclass in Tasmanian fine winemaking, described by Dave Brooks (Halliday Wine Companion) as “knockout wines that have become a benchmark for the region”. The Pinot Noir is floral and aromatic with great depth, soft and grainy tannins, and a surprising underlying power. The Chardonnay is a wine of finesse and poise, with delicate flavours of lime, green apple peel and a savoury biscuit note. The 2023 Chardonnay won the Françoise De Castella trophy for Best Young White Wine at the Melbourne Royal Wine Awards in 2024. Also known as the “Frankie”, this is the white wine equivalent of the famous Jimmy Watson trophy. Having previously won the “Frankie” in both 2018 and 2021, the Tolpuddle Chardonnay is now the only wine to have won the trophy three times.

The 20 hectare north-east facing vineyard is located in the Coal River Valley, which sits in a rain shadow, creating dry but cold conditions. The dry climate ensures there is very low disease pressure, which in turn means the grapes can be left on the vines longer to ensure they ripen fully, resulting in grapes of high aromatic intensity. The vineyard is situated on a gentle slope and the soil is light silica over sandstone and of moderate vigour, ensuring well-balanced vines.

All the grapes were hand picked, whole-bunch pressed, and fermented in French oak barriques. The wine spent nine months in barrel with a mixture of toast levels, a third of which were new. There was gentle lees stirring as required, then a further four months in tank on lees prior to bottling.