Another cool vintage in the Coal River Valley. This shows pretty pops of melon, greengage blossom, green apple skin, a chalky mineral note, jasmine and a subtle saline twang. Some nutty tones with air. The palate is bright and energetic with piercing citrus drive and great texture to foil it’s electrically charged tension. It’s tight and furled, though the bones are there for an exciting future. This, the most recent release of this wine, perpetuates the upward trajectory of Tolpuddle Chardonnay. Drink from 2027-2034. Tasted Feb 2025.

Sweet pops of melon and green apple lead the aromas with some floral prettiness beneath and followed by talc, cinnamon, struck match, and freshly squeezed lemon juice. It’s wonderfully mineral, too, which lifts and energizes the wine. The palate is furled and taut, with concentrated fruit tussling it’s way to push through and fill it out with almond meal and praline adding savoury complexity. 2022 was one of the coolest vintages in recent history and it shows in the wine’s rapier acidity. This needs time to fill out, but what’s there now is brilliant. Drink from 2027-2031. Tasted Feb 2025.

Curry leaf reduction makes way for dehydrated lime, citrus preserves, candied lime, white flowers and a mineral drive. It’s focused, pithy and precise with a coiled spring-like energy. There’s a tensile frame to the palate, though with lovely textural finesse and charm holding notes akin to the nose. Citrussy acidity frames it all up along with a surprisingly firm phenolic presence to elongate and freshen the finish. Very good length here. A wine of focus, precision and purity. Drink from 2027-2034. Tasted Feb 2025.

Peach, grilled nuts, peach skin, Meyer lemon, cinnamon and nutmeg sit in a layered profile and above a sheath of struck match reduction. Some opulent ripe stone fruit blossom notes with air. This is layered, classy and finespun. On the palate, there’s great shape, detail and structure, foiling a burst of precise fruit and spice. This is at once powerful and precise, with any chance of ponderance sliced up and pulled into linearity by a shot of laser-like acid and interwoven phenolic presence. Textural, layered, precise and with seemingly endless length. A classy wine. Drink from 2025-2035. Tasted Feb 2025.

Some stubborn rubbery reduction here, eventually making way for lime, cashew and white florals with some cinnamon spice in support. There’s good sapidity and bright zestiness to the palate which is loaded with trademark Tolpuddle verve and energy. The finish is taut, linear and driving with a frame of pithy acid and glossy phenolics drawing length. A high-toned and energetic expression. Drink from 2027-2032. Tasted Feb 2025.

This has a measured and balanced feel, with ripe lime, peach skin, almond meal, and melon sitting in a fresh profile, with some riper peach blossom notes with air. There’s full bodied texture through the palate, coating the mouth with notes akin to the nose and some gentle phenolic chew through the finish. This is a quieter expression, though beguiling as a result. Drink from 2025-2029. Tasted Feb 2025.

This is remarkably pretty and fresh aromatically, though with excellent intensity, focus and drive. White florals, lime skin, struck match, cashew cream, subtle white peach – all wrapped around a saline mineral core. The palate follows suit in it’s pithy prettiness and finesse, though with a good burst of precise concentration funnelled through architectural structure to long length. A wine of impact, this masterfully balances crystalline finesse with powerful complexity. A stunning wine. Drink from 2025-2033. Tasted Feb 2025.

Some slightly rubbery reduction to start before a filling out of peach skin, a hint of kumquat, ripe sweet florals, bath salts, and delicate cinnamon spice. It’s riper than previous, but still pretty and linear. There’s a fulsome feel through the palate which holds the fruit in a pillowy texture with a more pronounced phenolic edge through the finish, pulling the fruit core into linearity to good length. There’s a lovely latent lick of acidity cleansing the back palate, too. Drink from 2025-2029. Tasted Feb 2025.

A lovely melding of flint and fruit weight to start. White nectarine, green apple skin, saline minerality. There’s attractive brightness to the aromas while still exhibiting depth. Good power and texture to the palate, too, with a chewy feel quickly foiled by pithy phenolics and citrus laden acidity. There’s some earthy button mushroom lingering beneath, but otherwise this is driven by primary fruit with notes akin to the nose. Good bite here, with the power and weight pushing through the palate to great length and a pithy finish. Concentrated and seamless – not a hair out of place. Drink from 2025-2030. Tasted Feb 2025.

A more deep-set feel here, with a weight to the fruit. White peach, a subtle green edge, candied lime, and some green florals with air. A hint of subtle green pineapple in the mix. The palate has breadth and weight, with lime fruits leading the charge and white nectarine beneath. There’s good intensity here and a lactic feel texturally. The finish holds some grip to the sides and an attractive lime peel bitterness. The acidity is a touch hard and sour, perhaps jutting out a little. But overall this is cool, textural and mealy. Drink from 2025-2027. Tasted Feb 2025.

A quieter, more reserved and saline set of aromas here. It’s ripe though still taut in feel with dehydrated lime, candied lime, flinty minerality and some floral citrus blossom lift with air. This is less about fruit and more about mineral boniness. The palate follows suit, with an emphasis on seaspray and rocky quartz-like minerality rather than a push of fruit. It’s fine and lithe through the finish, though the fruit isn’t quite there to fill out it’s architectural structure of rapier acidity and talc-like phenolics. Drink from 2025-2025. Tasted Feb 2025.

Open but surprisingly fresh and youthful with aromas of almond meal, hey, some stubborn flint, lemon pith, and barely there tertiary development in the form of delicate button mushroom which emerges more with air. The palate shows the openness of age, though still with a pithy and tensile sensibility. Dehydrated lime and melon fruits cut through hey, almond meal again and white peach skin with piercing and bright acidity drawing it all long through the mouth. The acid is still a touch hard and tart despite the wine’s age, but there’s a lot to like here. Drink from 2025-2027. Tasted Feb 2025.

Glossy primary red fruits at the fore with lifted raspberry and strawberry underpinned by integrated spice. The palate is nicely concentrated with notes of the same and a lovely sapid feel. Glossy and bright red fruits again with nutmeg and hints of earthiness beneath. Firm sappy tannins frame it all up to a nice red fruited and even finish. Delightfully bright now, though this clearly needs time. Drink from 2025-2033. Tasted Feb 2025.

Herbaceous whole bunch spice leads the aromas along with some savoury bark notes before raspberry, macerated strawberry, peppercorn, green bean and a meaty nuance. The palate bursts with lovely concentrated fruit in the form of cranberry and dark cherry sitting above whole bunch spice, earth and sou bois. Incredibly polished and inviting texture floats it all through the palate to long length. Super classy and complex. Drink from 2025-2035. Tasted Feb 2025.

A lovely melding of fruit and spice aromatically. Nutmeg, dark cherry, cranberry, pops of pomegranate, and subtle cracked cardamom with whole bunch integrated and intermingling. Lovely polished feel to the palate which masterfully balances power and finesse. Great texture, too, with everything wrapped up in fine-but-firm tannins and a drench of bright acidity. Classy and fine, an excellent Pinot Noir. Drink from 2025-2033. Tasted Feb 2025.

Lifted bunch and brown spice notes are very inviting from the outset, before the emergence of lovely dark cherry fruit, forest floor and some autumnal leaf notes in the background. Air unlocks some red floral prettiness adding further lift and perfume. There’s good fruit weight and intensity to the palate, driving through the mouth with sappy dark cherry, brown spice, forest floor and bunchy spice before firm and assertive tannins pull it all long to a spice-laden and clean finish. Drink from 2025-2028. Tasted Feb 2025.

Lifted and open knit aromas here. Ripe raspberry and raspberry compote sit above red liquorice and liquorice root with some spiced plum lingering beneath. The palate is fulsome and broad-shouldered in it’s fruit profile, with round notes of plum, raspberry coulis and red cherry molasses. Despite it’s loose weave feel, this is still quite beguiling and vibrant with a structural frame through the finish. Not the most lithe of the wines in this tasting, but charming nonetheless. Drink from 2025-2028. Tasted Feb 2025.

Wonderful impact from the get go here, with dense and intense aromas of dried cranberry, dark cherry, earth and integrated stemmy, twiggy spice. Some emergent forest floor and paperbark sits beneath adding dimension and complexity. The aromatics are so moreish, drawing you back to the glass time and time again. There’s excellent concentration to the palate, with dried cranberry, dark cherry and sous bois bursting through the mouth within a funnel of firm structure in the form of chalky tannins and integrated acidity. All of this pulled long to brilliant length. This is Burgundian in feel, with restrained power and immense complexity. An excellent wine of class, elegance and poise. Drink from 2025-2028. Tasted Feb 2025.

Bigger berries from bigger bunches in a bigger crop. Lighter aromatics here with less power and verve. Plum and dark cherry fruits sit within a delicate profile, with some nutmeg spice in support. The palate follows suit with charm and an open knit feel holding lighter red cherry, red florals and delicate brown spice. There’s still some structure to frame it all, but this is a lighter and brighter expression ready to go now. Drink from 2025-2025. Tasted Feb 2025.

Tomato leaf, green bean, dried cranberry, fig leaf, and pomelo orange define the aromas with a saline twang beneath. The herbaceous tone of the palate is wonderfully soaked up in a burst of sous bois and dark cherry fruit, making for a lovely complex and textural feel. Fine-but-firm tannins frame the finish along with a latent kick of cranberry acid to clean it all up. There’s a velvety feel here, with lovely seamless complexity and excellent length. Drink from 2025-2025. Tasted Feb 2025.

There’s smoky undertones within a stemmy and bunch-led aromatic profile here thanks to 50% whole bunch fermentation for this vintage. The palate has a savoury aesthetic with tomato leaf, dried herbs and spice commanding the mouth within a slippery texture. Sappy tannins and herbaceous acidity persist nicely through the finish. It’s a savoury and bunchy affair with the latter a touch overt, but there’s lots to like here nonetheless. Drink from 2025-2025. Tasted Feb 2025.

Pomegranate, dark cherry, earth, autumnal decaying leaves, and a ferrous edge. There’s good concentration and complexity to the palate which is quite open knit (perhaps indicative of warmer vintage) showing earth, autumn leaves, dark cherry, subtle mushroom and sous bois. A firm sheath of silty tannins still asserting through the finish. Very autumnal, with lovely tertiary development sitting within ample, firm structure. The acid again poking its head out a touch, however. Drink from 2025-2025. Tasted Feb 2025.

Just a subtle garnet edge to Tolpuddle’s first Pinot Noir release made by Martin Shaw. 15% to 20% whole bunch. Dried cranberry, paperbark, root vegetable, sauteed mushroom, measured stemmy spice, earth. Quite airy aromatics. There’s a nice even feel through the palate with a restrained tertiary led mix of earth and field mushroom at the fore with dark cherry and cranberry in support. A fine sheath of silty tannins frames the finish along with some nervy and elevated acidity. Not immensely concentrated having fallen away somewhat over time, but a lovely texture and even feel despite the pushy acid. Drink from 2025-2025. Tasted Feb 2025.