Just a few wineries on this trip (after three years away) touching on Coal Valley and Piper’s River. Amongst my missed ‘regulars’ Domaine A seems to be open just on weekends, at least in this COVID-era. Simha in Hobart apparently run only a costly tasting-plate ‘experience’ at $60 up front, so I chose not to go on the quest there. Nocton were closed too. The big commercial operators are still trading though, despite limited numbers in cellar doors. But the prices generally at these wineries – Bay of Fires, Clover Hill, Pipers Brook, Tamar Ridge, Devils Creek, Frogmore – are at the very top end and undercut by almost any retail store in the country which carries the wines.
Pooley Wines
Coal Valley-based with the cellar door just outside Richmond. Big fine-rimmed stemmed glasses, miserly-sized pours. Refundable tasting fee for a couple of different flights ($10 for basic, $15 for single vineyards). But they also poured me for free some not-for-tasting specials they had open once my note-taking identified me as a wine-tragic. 15% off list price for members, which requires 3 dozen wines a year – too big an ask for me from a single winery sadly. Quite big range of high quality – and highly-priced – wines here, not all of which is available for tasting. Sits right in the top echelon of Tassie wines in my view.
- [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=9644784]2021 Pooley Pinot Grigio[/url] - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (14/01/2022)
{screwcap, 13%, A$36} Blossom and pear with a hint of apricot. There’s 4g/l of RS here, which adds just some texture, not sweetness. That’s pure fruit, but there’s a sour dryness to the finish, helped by a furry grape-skin texture. Lively palate despite only light/medium body. No oak apparent. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=9644785]2021 Pooley Riesling[/url] - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (14/01/2022)
{screwcap, 12.8%, A$42} 3g/l of RS, 5 months in old French oak. Polished nose of mild citrus, lychee, lime. Medium/high acidity, but gentle and caressing and entirely without the sense of being added from a silver-foil packet! Not much more than light-bodied, but with a piercing, laser-like focus. Dry, medium/long finish, not at all simple or hollow. Finely drinkable now but should age nicely over a decade. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=9644786]2021 Pooley Chardonnay[/url] - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (14/01/2022)
{screwcap, 13.6%, A$50} From non-estate fruit. 30% malo. Nine months in oak, 30% new. Nose of light oak and nuts. Quite seductive. Light/medium weight, medium acidity. Relies more on structure than flavour for its medium length finish. Generic oaked chardonnay flavours I’d say; attractive but not distinctive. A touch hollow and simple. Something of a quaffer, but too expensive for that; better to stump up the extra $15 and buy the single vineyard wines. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=9644787]2021 Pooley Gewürztraminer[/url] - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (14/01/2022)
{screwcap, 13.8%, A$36} The 3.5g/l of sugar balances this out nicely. It has the classic rosewater and estery nose of the variety, the same vivid flavours on the palate, though not nearly as sweet as you might expect. Medium weight, but with a phenolic, grape-skin sort of texture that curbs the urge to glugg down more of it. Even palate, medium length finish. No rush to drink this either. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=9644789]2020 Pooley Chardonnay Cooinda Vale[/url] - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (14/01/2022)
{screwcap, 13.2$, A$65} The rocky soil of this vineyard around and beyond Richmond produces quite overt fruit on the nose; grapefruit, melon, peach. The palate is similar, restrained and refined, perhaps just sitting towards the tip of the tongue. More peach and nut flavours, with some mild but nicely-judged French oak. Medium high acid, not too much malo character. Medium length finish quite a step up from the entry-level wine, but still marginal value. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=9644790]2020 Pooley Chardonnay Butcher's Hill[/url] - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (14/01/2022)
{screwcap, 13.3$, A$65} Same price as the Coolinda Vale wine, and made the same way, with 30% malo, 9 months in French oak, 30% new. This is much more interesting and racy though, with flint and stone and toast. Some grapefruit flavour too, but also a bit more earth. Even with that it’s still more pointed and exciting. Medium/high acid, medium weight and with a medium long finish. Very classy. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=9644791]2020 Pooley Pinot Noir Cooinda Vale[/url] - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (14/01/2022)
{screwcap, 13.2%, A$70} It wasn’t that many vintages ago this was selling for $30-something. Double the price in less than a decade. But the wine has improved. This has a floral, cherry and spice nose, with a touch of earth. Tidy palate, driven by high acidity, light red fruit characters, earthiness, and low/medium chalky tannins. Even palate, light/medium weight, medium length finish. Will be much better in five years but seems to have the goods. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=9644794]2020 Pooley Pinot Noir Cooinda Vale Oronsay[/url] - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (14/01/2022)
{screwcap, A$120} Not a million miles from the regular Cooinda bottling, but with extra layers of spice, earth, cinnamon, cedary oak. Medium dusty tannins, subtle oak, medium acidity. Polished and refined. There’s fruit present, but it’s driven more by structure. A proper wine of the soil. Pricey but may turn out to be worth it. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=9644795]2020 Pooley Pinot Noir Butcher's Hill Oronsay[/url] - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (14/01/2022)
{screwcap, 12.5%, A$120} Earth, tobacco, spice, oak. Everything is here. Beautifully balanced and even palate with medium acid, low/medium powdery tannins, seasoning oak, medium weight. Medium/long finish. Such balance and depth but without weightiness. Really good. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=9644796]2020 Pooley Syrah JRD[/url] - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (14/01/2022)
{screwcap, 12.5%, A$120} Fruit from the Glaezer-Dixon clan here in Tassie. Lots of white pepper. Mild blackberry flavour and despite the pepper and alcohol (you don’t see many Oz shiraz at 12.5% these days) not green or minty. Subtle oak, medium powdery tannins, medium/high acidity. Elegant, non-jammy style in a medium weight presentation. Medium/long finish. Good for medium term aging I think. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=9644797]2021 Pooley Riesling Butcher's Hill Late Harvest[/url] - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (14/01/2022)
{375ml, screwcap, 8.5%, $39} ‘Cane cut’ per the label. Spicy, almost gewurz-like, although otherwise fairly closed. Translucent palate, with a near-watery texture. Medium sweet (163g/l of RS) with a slightly dusty character. Light-bodied, with soft, honey-tinged flavours. Medium length finish. A bit underwhelming at this age (poor value it seems) but maybe time will tell? Not convinced now though.
Coal Valley. Limited opening hours here normally. Eight long years since the last visit. Pricing nicely under control. Large cut-rim tasting glasses, generous pours, no tasting fee apparent. Son of the proprietor behind the counter in the intimate tasting room on this occasion. Very friendly and personable visit. Wines generally good value with the exception of the sparkling merlot, where I struggle to match the winery’s enthusiasm. They don’t make every wine every year – it depends very much on what turns up best in the vintage. Most of the grapes are sold elsewhere, so everything is a kind of ‘reserve’ bottling.
- [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=9644798]2021 Craigow Riesling[/url] - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (14/01/2022)
{screwcap, $33} Soft lime juice character. Restrained nose. Tangy sort of palate. The 9 g/l of RS adds weight rather than sweetness, which is still pretty well dry. Slightly candied lemon flavours. Light/medium weight, medium acidity. Medium finish. Good short-term wine. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=9644799]2021 Craigow Chardonnay[/url] - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (14/01/2022)
{screwcap, $A35} Served a bit too cold to show ideally. Oak and nuts on the nose. A touch reductive and, minerally and shell-like beyond the melon fruit flavours. Medium body and acid. 20% new oak, which aligns with the tasting experience. Medium length finish. Tidy. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=9644801]2018 Craigow Easy Rose[/url] - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (14/01/2022)
{screwcap, 13.8%, A$32} Not the defunct ‘Easy’ label, but a proper rose. A near-unique mix of merlot, chardonnay and shiraz in the ratio 70/25/5. A mix of floral and plum characters. Aims for the provencale style. Medium acid, good balance, a bit of furry grape-skin astringency. Dry, light-bodied, short/medium length finish. Actually pretty good. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=9644802]2021 Craigow Sauvignon Blanc[/url] - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (14/01/2022)
{screwcap, A$33} They aim to avoid the classic asparagus/gooseberry/Marlborough look-alike sort of sauvignon, but pitch for Sancerre instead, and on this occasion they’ve just missed their target, I think. But the winemaker claims it needs a little time, apparently. In fairness, it was bottled just six weeks ago. Dry, with medium/high acid, light body, a tangy palate with some grassy capsicum to add to the gooseberry, it’s light-bodied and sits on the front palate somewhat. Short/medium finish. So-so. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=9644804]2019 Craigow White Blend[/url] - Australia, Tasmania, Southern Tasmania (14/01/2022)
{screwcap, A$35} About a third each of gewurz (which dominates), chardonnay and Riesling. Ginger, spice and lime. Dry, or – despite 4g of RS – not quite off-dry, light/medium body, medium acidity. Medium length finish. I can see it singing with Asian-type cuisine. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=9644805]2021 Craigow Pinot Noir[/url] - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (14/01/2022)
{screwcap, 13%, A$50} A cool vintage. Pale crimson colour. Nose of musk and lipstick; similar flavours. Only just bottled; is a bit unsettled at the moment. Medium acid, light body, low/medium chalky tannins. An ethereal sort of wine. Even, subtle palate, medium length finish. Wants a bit of time, definitely. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=9644806]NV Craigow Sparkling Merlot[/url] - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (14/01/2022)
At $60 it’s a big ask, this. Tasmania’s only sparkling merlot. Inspired years ago by a visit to Hollick Coonawarra. Sweet-smelling nose of plum jam. Properly dry palate though, tasting the way you expect merlot to taste. Large but creamy-textured bubbles. Medium weight and length. Nice enough wine, but over-priced for what it is. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=9644807]2021 Craigow Riesling Dessert Riesling[/url] - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (14/01/2022)
{375ml, screwcap, 8.8%, A$39} Late pick, non-botrytis style with 102g/l of RS. Gentle honey flavours, but without all that much sweetness, nor indeed weight; this is very much light-bodied at the moment. Off-dry. Almost sorbet-like. Wants a few years to fill out and justify the hefty cost (I hope).
Pipers River. Burgundy focus + sparklings. Open Fri-Mon at the moment. You have to buy a non-refundable ‘tasting experience’ for $15/$25+ depending on the wines. Taking pity on the note-taker, they charged me the cheapest ‘experience’ price, while offering some other wines they had open, and I think they’d have let me try everything for that cheapest price if I’d pushed (and I did buy a six-pack in the end). Decent-sized pours into fine-cut, stemless bowl-style glasses. Their big thing is sparkling, with about six bottlings; there’s no 2020 pinot since the COVID-driven picker shortage and lousy weather forecast made them take all the fruit early and put it into the sparklings. Wine Club price is 20% off those shown below, but you’re up for two dozen wines a year for that. They poured me two Museum Estate pinots no longer for sale, which was nice; these normally sell for $70-90 v the $55 for the current vintage release.
- [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=9644810]NV Delamere Vineyard Cuvée[/url] - Australia, Tasmania, Pipers River (23/01/2022)
{diam, A$40} 40% pinot, 60% chard. Clean nose. Mild grapefruit. Little yeast, but a hint of earth in the aromas. Palate seems more pinot-tinged than 40%, with some vague strawberry apparent. It’s dry, light/medium in weight, with medium/high acidity, medium-sized bubbles and a medium length finish. Zestily refreshing but maybe a bit anonymous though. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=9644812]NV Delamere Vineyard Sparkling Rosé[/url] - Australia, Tasmania, Pipers River (23/01/2022)
{diam, A$40} Cherry/strawberry, mild, with yeast, earth and dirt. I actually wondered how long this was open, as there seemed a faint oxidative note. Fine bubbles, creamy in texture, dry palate, medium/high acid, even palate, clean finish. Good. Time will help a bit too I think. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=9644813]2019 Delamere Vineyard Chardonnay[/url] - Australia, Tasmania, Pipers River (23/01/2022)
{screwcap, A$55} Strongly cashew-infused nose, with figs and butter. Classy oak here! Palate has more intense grapefruit, subtly creamy oak yet still a crunchy sort of texture. Medium/high acid, dry, medium weight. Medium long finish. Really good wine. Keep five years at least. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=9644814]2018 Delamere Vineyard Chardonnay Block 3[/url] - Australia, Tasmania, Pipers River (23/01/2022)
{screwcap, A$110} Supposed to spotlight the fruit but this cuvee speaks to me more of wood. Peachy fruit, glue-like oak with a hint of insect repellant. Sulphur? Tingly palate with plenty of acid, persistent medium/long finish, medium weight and a nice balance along the tongue. But really shouldn’t be opened for five years at least. I really struggle to see a justification for twice the price of the regular Estate bottling. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=9644815]2019 Delamere Flyleaf Pinot Noir[/url] - Australia, Tasmania, Pipers River (23/01/2022)
{screwcap, A$40} Tamar-sourced fruit, presumably to get an entry-level pinot available. Lifted youthful aromas of blueberry, cherry and faint oak. Vivid but dry palate with a mix of red berries, fine oak and earth. Medium/high acid, low/medium chalky tannins. Good palate length balance, medium length finish. Good vale for shorter-term drinking. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=9644816]2011 Delamere Vineyard Pinot Noir[/url] - Australia, Tasmania, Pipers River (23/01/2022)
{screwcap, 13.5%} Certainly looks a decade old in the glass. Bouquet is aged and leathery. A bit volatile too? Palate is better with aged, velvety-textured old pinot fruit, trembly acid, faded dusty tannins. About medium weight. Good on the front and mid-palate, weak at the back. Moderate sort of complexity, but ready to drink. Outshone by the 2009. - [url=https://www.cellartracker.com/note.asp?iWine ... te=9644817]2009 Delamere Vineyard Pinot Noir[/url] - Australia, Tasmania, Pipers River (23/01/2022)
{screwcap} Lovely aged pinot; a bit darker than the 2011. Compost, earth, stewed plums, blackberries. Medium/full weight for pinot, even across the tongue, medium/high acid, soft powdery tannins. Medium long finish; a lovely older pinot and on this tasting there’s no rush to drink it either. Very nice indeed.
