Pooley Pinot Noir 2025

Pinot Noir from Pooley Wines' Coal River Valley vineyards (Cooinda Vale and Butcher's Hill) in Tasmania, with a small addition of Tamar Valley fruit for lift and softness. The destemmed, uncrushed fruit spent three weeks in open fermenters with daily pump-overs for colour and tannin extraction, then matured for ten months split evenly between French oak barrels and stainless steel before bottling in February 2026. Aromas of raspberry, wild strawberry, violet and dried herbs lead into a palate of plum skin, cacao and cracked black pepper, closing on a firm tannic backbone and a savoury finish. Bone dry at 0 g/L residual sugar, with bright acidity (pH 3.57, TA 5.5 g/L).

The two home vineyards sit on different dirt. Cooinda Vale at Campania is shallow sandy clay loam over hard clay, with black cracking clay to the north. It faces north-east in a sheltered spot that swings between frost and heatwave. The thin pale soil holds the vines back, which is where the finesse comes from. Butcher's Hill at Richmond is a steep north-facing slope of black cracking clay and sandy loam over heavy clay. Its iron oxide holds heat and gives the weight.

Denis and Margaret Pooley planted seven rows of Pinot Noir and ten of Riesling at Cooinda Vale in 1985 as a retirement plan. First vintage was 1989. Butcher's Hill followed with its first crop in 2007. Anna Pooley and Justin Bubb came home to make the wine in 2013. Halliday named Pooley Winery of the Year in 2023.