TN: Cellar Door Coal Valley - Pooley, Domaine A
Posted: Sat Jun 15, 2024 8:53 pm
COAL VALLEY WINERIES - Coal Valley, Tasmania (13/01/2024)
Pooley Wines
Cellar Door is busier than ever, although it’s largely the restaurant that’s flooding the place with people. $15 buys you a tasting of 5 basic wines, then you can taste single vineyard bottlings for $10 a pair. Beyond that, $10 ea for the $100+ flagships. They might go through more of these at tastings than in sales, hence the tasting price structure! No refunds with purchase. So the nine wine notes below set me back $35, which is pretty serious pricing. Keen, knowledgeable staff. Big, thin-rimmed, stemmed glasses, although reasonably generous pours considering they’re meeting a value-for-money proposition given the fees involved! Absolute prices continue to rise shockingly, although given the sold-out status of many of the more expensive wines they’ve obviously a way to go to meet the point of resistance. To be fair, the wines are very good, although there are no bargains left.
Revamped CD since I was last here. $20 non-refundable fee to taste all 7 wines. Decent-sized pours but in quite small glasses – not much larger than glorified old XL5s.
Pooley Wines
Cellar Door is busier than ever, although it’s largely the restaurant that’s flooding the place with people. $15 buys you a tasting of 5 basic wines, then you can taste single vineyard bottlings for $10 a pair. Beyond that, $10 ea for the $100+ flagships. They might go through more of these at tastings than in sales, hence the tasting price structure! No refunds with purchase. So the nine wine notes below set me back $35, which is pretty serious pricing. Keen, knowledgeable staff. Big, thin-rimmed, stemmed glasses, although reasonably generous pours considering they’re meeting a value-for-money proposition given the fees involved! Absolute prices continue to rise shockingly, although given the sold-out status of many of the more expensive wines they’ve obviously a way to go to meet the point of resistance. To be fair, the wines are very good, although there are no bargains left.
- 2023 Pooley Pinot Grigio - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River
{screwcap, $42} Dry pear, hint of apricot. Dry, no oak on palate. Medium acid, light-medium weight. Clean and polished. Medium length finish. Tidy example and quite convincing even for those who aren’t enamoured of the grape generally. - 2023 Pooley Riesling - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River
{screwcap, 12.8%, $45} Lime and talc, stone and minerals. Dry (3g/l of RS) but juicy, clean. Medium weight, lychee fruit too. Even palate, medium length finish. Very drinkable indeed. - 2022 Pooley Riesling Butcher's Hill - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River
{screwcap, 13.2%, $70} A touch of sulphur and matchstick. Earthy, with some resin & glue notes. Sees old oak in a Germanic style. Chewy and textured. Dry (also 3g/l RS) , medium/high acidity. Mouth-watering palate with a long finish. Very interesting wine that needs time. - 2022 Pooley Riesling Cooinda Vale - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River
{screwcap, 12.2%, $70} The RS is up to 5g/l here, but it’s unnoticeable as sweetness. This is at least as acidic as its Butchers Hill sibling, less earthy, and without the textural oak. Lime juice and grapefruit flavours, granite stone quality. Dry, high in acid, medium/full in weight. Seems to clean up in the mouth compared o the earth-tinged entry. Impressive as well. - 2023 Pooley Chardonnay - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River
{screwcap, 13%, $55} 20% new oak. Grapefruit, sandstone, sandalwood. Medium acid, tingly sort of palate. Light/medium weight, clean and youthful, even palate, medium length finish. Needs a couple of years to knit together. Good wine for the price, I think. I bought one, but I think a few years will be needed to extract maximum flavour. - 2022 Pooley Chardonnay Cooinda Vale - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River
{screwcap, $90} 25% new oak here, but seems way more noticeable than the entry-level bottling. Figs and nuts with polished stone fruits. Medium/high acid, long finish. Even palate. Feels like the extra year in bottle compared to the previous wine really helps. Will be great with time. - 2023 Pooley Gewürztraminer - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River
{screwcap, 13.5%, $42} Floral nose, with rosewater and rose-petal. Masses of flavour, medium/full in weight, still dry, helped by medium acidity and culminating in a medium length finish. From Tamar Valley fruit. Very good example of the grape. - 2022 Pooley Pinot Noir - Australia, Tasmania
{screwcap, $58} Floral, cherry nose, but also with a hint of earth and subtle oak. Almost lean, quite savoury palate, not unripe though. Low/medium dusty tannins, medium acid and light-medium weight. Dusty, dry, short-medium length finish. Time will really help here, although the step up to the single vineyard wines is quite noticeable. - 2022 Pooley Pinot Noir Cooinda Vale - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River
{screwcap, $90} 30% new oak, 10% whole bunch ferment. Way too young; still a bit resin and glue on the nose. Roses, violets, tar, cranberry – plenty of flavour going on here. Creamy, fleshy sort of palate. Medium dusty tannins, medium acid. Has a serious structural feel to it. Needs five years at least to justify the cost!
Revamped CD since I was last here. $20 non-refundable fee to taste all 7 wines. Decent-sized pours but in quite small glasses – not much larger than glorified old XL5s.
- 2020 Domaine A Lady A - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River
{screwcap, $75} Sweet oak! Stewed apricot aromas along with the wood makes you suspect chardonnay in many ways. Medium/full weight, dry, nutty and fig-like. Even palate, medium length finish. Not sure it’ll age all that elegantly though. - 2022 Domaine A Pinot Noir Stoney Vineyard - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River
{screwcap, $39} From vines planted only in 2019. Clean nose, raspberry, strawberry, with minimal oak. But still low/medium dusty tannin. Medium acidity. Vivid without verging on fruit juice! Medium length finish, and feels like several years aging will only help. Good value wine. - 2018 Domaine A Pinot Noir - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River
{cork, $85} Last vintage made with Peter Althaus’ involvement, and also available under screwcap. Still retains a touch of the trademark mint. Dark cherry fruit, medium oak, acid and tannin. Even palate, medium/long finish. Needs time, but I really can’t see the value here. - 2018 Domaine A Merlot - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River
{cork, $85} Plum sweetness in line with the variety. Beautiful even, ripe palate, medium/full body, medium dusty tannins. Medium long finish. Impressive wine. My only hesitation is I’ve experienced this wine turning rather tomato-like in the past with extended aging so I’d advise drinking it on the early side. - 2017 Domaine A Petit 'a' - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River
{cork, $55} The product of a long, cool and wet vintage, and it rather shows in the wine. 35% merlot, rest cabernet. A bit lean and green; capsicum, herbs, leaves. Light/medium body, low gritty tannins, medium acid, medium length finish. Balance is OK, it’s just the ripeness that is marginal. I normally quite like this wine, but I can’t see the value here. - 2018 Domaine A Cabernet Sauvignon Stoney Vineyard - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River
{screwcap, $39} Very cabernet-ish, currants with a blue tinge, hint of dark chocolate. Genuine herbs, no greenness. Low/medium grape tannin, subtle oak, medium acidity. Good wine, good value and should be fine for another five years easily. - 2013 Domaine A Cabernet Sauvignon - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River
{cork, A$115} Maturing cabernet. Cassis, hint of tomato leaf, soft cedar and cigar characters. Lovely nose, consistent palate that is gently caressing, even along the tongue. Medium weight, medium level furry tannins. Medium long finish. Definitely betraying ten year’s age, but could hold if needed. No crime to drink now though.