(Image: Pooley Wines)
 

Winner 2023 Halliday Wine Companion Winery of the Year

“Tucked into a bend of the meandering Coal River, there is a deep spirit about the quaint Cooinda Vale vineyard, still the source of Pooley’s finest wines. To winemaker Anna Pooley, sense of place is everything, “for this is where the heart and soul of wine exists.” It is the eloquent articulation of the native Tasmanian spirit of the rugged and beautiful landscapes of their Cooinda Vale and Butcher’s Hill vineyards that has elevated Pooley Wines to the pinnacle of Australian pinot noir, chardonnay and riesling…”

Tyson Stelzer, Halliday Wine Companion

About

Pooley Wines was established in 1985 when the late Denis and Margaret Pooley planted ten rows of Riesling and seven rows of Pinot Noir on their 16-hectare farm at Cooinda Vale in the Coal River Valley in southern Tasmania, and then a further second vineyard in the Coal River Valley at Richmond. Margaret Pooley remained the chief executive of Cooinda Vale Vineyard until well into her nineties. She was a hardy Scot and could be found tending vines during the coldest Tasmanian winters.

In 2003, John Pooley, son of Denis and Margaret, and his wife Libby bought Belmont, a heritage-listed Georgian home on the outskirts of Richmond. They have been lovingly renovating this second Pooley Wines Coal River Valley property, and have planted vines on nearby Butchers Hill. In 2007 the first vintage of Pinot was produced. The cellar door is housed in old sandstone stables on the Belmont property.

All the vines are tended by Matt Pooley and wines made by his sibling Anna Pooley and husband Justin Bubb.

 

2021 Riesling

Varietal/s: Riesling
GI: Coal River Valley, Tasmania.
Alcohol: 12.8%
PH: 2.9
TA: 7.8 g/L
Residual Sugar: 3 g/L

Vinification: A blend of Butcher’s Hill Riesling (60%) and Cooinda Vale Riesling (40%). Handpicked and cold settled overnight. Whole-bunch pressed and fermented in stainless steel. Inoculated fermentation. 4 months on fine lees prior to bottling.

Growing Season:

The season started with consistent spring rainfall that built a solid foundation with strong, healthy canopies and bountiful bunch numbers. Mild conditions continued through to summer with few days reaching over 25C. The start of Autumn provided glorious sunshine days and cool oceanic evenings hailing the start of veraison. The vacant heat returned shortly thereafter to kickstart what would be a long and late vintage. The fruit was in absolutely no rush to be picked and showed its relaxed appreciation through integrated and balanced phenolic profiles.

Tasting Notes:

A bright and crunchy cool-climate riesling with notes of lime blossom, jasmine, citrus peel and granny smith apple on the nose. Sweet citrus, grapefruit and mandarin follow on the palate with a nervy acid profile and a textured, lingering finish.

Winefront Review by Mike Bennie

Posted on 26 April 2022

"What a ripper. Gin n tonic, ginger, Real Lemonade, wet ferns. You get the gist? It’s racy and lacy, juicy and crisp, a bouncy, bright and fresh-as-can-be expression with a laser-like race of grapefruity tang delivering extreme freshness and a whip crack reset to finish. A little, fine chew of talc-like minerally things and a slick of barely there, cashew nut savouriness too. Fab."

94 Points

 

2021 Butcher's Hill Chardonnay

Varietal/s: Chardonnay
Alcohol: 13.4%
GI: Tasmania, Australia
TA: 6.7g/L
PH: 3.28
Clone/s: Penfolds (76+96), I10V1
Yield: 7.0 T/Ha
Baume: 12.5
Harvest Date: March 28th, 2021
Bottle Date: March 24th, 2022
Production: 4836 bottles

Vinification:

Hand-picked, Whole-bunch pressed to tank, then put to barrel the next morning. Barrel fermentation (wild) for 25 days. 9 months maturation in 35% new French oak barriques (Marcel Cadet and Sirugue, 36 months seasoned, Medium Toast, Fine Grain) with minimal lees stirring. 50% malolactic fermentation.

Vineyard:

Location: Butcher’s Hill, Richmond.
Appellation: Coal River Valley
Established: 2003
Elevation: 30m-100m
Soil Type: Dolerite & self-mulching black vertosols over sandstone
Aspect: North Facing
Size: 6ha under vine

Growing Season:

The 2021 growing season started with consistent spring rainfall that built a solid foundation with strong, healthy canopies and bountiful bunch numbers. Mild conditions continued through to summer with few days reaching over 25C. The start of Autumn provided glorious sunshine days and cool oceanic evenings hailing the start of veraison. The vacant heat returned shortly thereafter to kickstart what would be a long and late vintage. The fruit was in absolutely no rush to be picked and showed its relaxed appreciation through integrated and balanced phenolic profiles.

Tasting Notes:

Rich and weighted with unfurling notes of bruised golden apple, wet wool, grapefruit peel, and key-lime tart on the nose, with further developing notes of salted butter, flint and orchard fruits as the wine opens up in the glass. There's a lovely balance with superlative texture and knife-edge tension.

Optimal Drinking: 2022 - 2032

 

 

2021 Cooinda Vale Chardonnay

Varietal/s: Chardonnay
Alcohol: 13.1%
GI: Tasmania, Australia
TA: 6.8g/L
PH: 3.27
Clone/s: Penfolds, I10V1
Yield: 7.0 T/Ha
Baume: 12.0
Harvest Date: April 1st, 2021
Bottle Date: March 25th, 2022
Production: 5155 bottles.

Vinification:

Hand-picked, chilled to 5 degrees overnight. Whole bunch pressed. Wild, barrel fermentation for 20 days. 9 months maturation in 40% new French oak barriques (100% Marcel Cadet, 24 months seasoning, fine grain, medium toast) then a further 2.5 months in tank with minimal lees stirring. 60% malolactic fermentation.

Vineyard:

Location: Cooinda Vale, Campania
Appellation: Coal River Valley
Established: 1985
Elevation: 80m-100m
Soil Type: Sandy loams & sandy clay loam over impervious clay
Aspect: North-East Facing
Size: 6ha under vine

Growing Season:

The 2021 growing season started with consistent spring rainfall that built a solid foundation with strong, healthy canopies and bountiful bunch numbers. Mild conditions continued through to summer with few days reaching over 25C. The start of Autumn provided glorious sunshine days and cool oceanic evenings hailing the start of veraison. The vacant heat returned shortly thereafter to kickstart what would be a long and late vintage. The fruit was in absolutely no rush to be picked and showed its relaxed appreciation through integrated and balanced phenolic profiles.

Tasting Notes:

Purity and persistence with crystalline acidity and sensational length. Notes of toasted hazelnuts, nashi pear, lime sorbet, and sea spray on the nose with subtle smoke, chalk, green apple, and yellow stonefruits persisting on the palate. Even in its youth, it's ethereal and lean with a more than optimistic future ahead. It’s a certain prodigy, in the making.

Optimal Drinking: 2022 - 2037

 

 

2021 Pinot Noir

Varietal/s: Pinot Noir
Clone/s: 114, 115, 777, MV6, D2V5
Alcohol: 13.5%
PH: 3.62
TA: 5.6 g/L
Yield: 6.5 t/Ha
Baume: 12.8
Harvest Date: 20th March to 5th April 2021
Bottle Date: 17th, March 2022
Production: 29,856 bottles
GI: Coal River Valley, Southern Tasmania.

Vinification:

A blend of Cooinda Vale and Butcher’s Hill with the addition of some smaller parcels of selected growers within the Coal River Valley. Wild fermentation (5% whole bunch) over 14 days then 7-day post ferment maceration. Fermentation took place in 2.5-tonne open ferment stainless steel with pumping over once per day. Matured for 11 months in French oak (15% New). A mixture of (90%) puncheons (500L) with a small portion matured in (10%) barriques (225L).

Growing Season:

The season started with consistent spring rainfall that built a solid foundation with strong, healthy canopies and bountiful bunch numbers. Mild conditions continued through to summer with few days reaching over 25C. The start of Autumn provided glorious sunshine days and cool oceanic evenings hailing the start of veraison. The vacant heat returned shortly thereafter to kickstart what would be a long and late vintage. The fruit was in absolutely no rush to be picked and showed its relaxed appreciation through integrated and balanced phenolic profiles.

Tasting Notes:

Scintillating notes of redcurrant, cherries and raspberry compote on the nose with an underlying layer of mineral, cacao and dried rose petal. On the palate, it's pristine and persistent with bright red fruits, cedar, subtle game, and a dusting of black pepper. It's intricately balanced with finely boned tannin and brilliant acidity.

Drink: 2022 to 2032

 

2021 Cooinda Vale Pinot Noir

Varietal/s: Pinot Noir
Alcohol: 13.3%
GI: Tasmania, Australia
TA: 6.0g/L
PH: 3.61
Clone/s: 114, 115, Pommard, Abel
Yield: 6.5 T/Ha
Baume: 12.0-12.3
Harvest Date: 29th March to 10th April, 2021
Bottle Date: March 27th, 2022
Production: 8712 bottles.

Vinification:

Hand-picked. Wild fermentation (5% whole bunch blended from Oronsay ferment) for 18 days with 7 days post-ferment maceration. Matured in 35% new French oak barriques (Cavin & St Martin - Fine grain, 36 months seasoning, medium toast) for 11.5 months.

Vineyard:

Location: Cooinda Vale, Campania
Appellation: Coal River Valley
Established: 1985
Elevation: 80m-100m
Soil Type: Sandy loams & sandy clay loam over impervious clay
Aspect: North-East Facing
Size: 6ha under vine

Growing Season:

The 2021 growing season started with consistent spring rainfall that built a solid foundation with strong, healthy canopies and bountiful bunch numbers. Mild conditions continued through to summer with few days reaching over 25C. The start of Autumn provided glorious sunshine days and cool oceanic evenings hailing the start of veraison. The vacant heat returned shortly thereafter to kickstart what would be a long and late vintage. The fruit was in absolutely no rush to be picked and showed its relaxed appreciation through integrated and balanced phenolic profiles.

Tasting Notes:

Abounding complexity and energy in the glass. An intricate display of autumnal aromas with oud perfume, port royal tobacco, orange rind and sour cherry. The palate is lifted with continuing notes of sour cherry, red currants and poached strawberry underscored by dried herbs, amaro and a wisp of smoked white pepper. Caressing tannin, delicate weight and elating length on the finish.

Optimal Drinking: 2022 - 2042

 

2021 Butchers Hill Pinot Noir

Varietal/s: Pinot Noir
Alcohol: 13.5%
GI: Tasmania, Australia
TA: 5.9g/L
PH: 3.26
Clone/s: 114, 115, 777, MV6
Yield: 6.3 T/Ha
Baume: 12 - 12.3
Harvest Date: 17th March to 27th March, 2021
Bottle Date: March 28th, 2022
Production: 8760 bottles

Vinification:

Hand-picked, 100% destemmed. Wild fermentation for 15 days with 7 day post- ferment maceration. Matured in 30% new French oak barriques (Cavin & St Martin - Fine grain, 36 months seasoning, medium toast) for 11.5 months.

Vineyard:

Location: Butcher’s Hill, Richmond.
Appellation: Coal River Valley
Established: 2003
Elevation: 30m-100m
Soil Type: Dolerite & self-mulching black vertosols over sandstone
Aspect: North Facing
Size: 6ha under vine

Growing Season:

The 2021 growing season started with consistent spring rainfall that built a solid foundation with strong, healthy canopies and bountiful bunch numbers. Mild conditions continued through to summer with few days reaching over 25C. The start of Autumn provided glorious sunshine days and cool oceanic evenings hailing the start of veraison. The vacant heat returned shortly thereafter to kickstart what would be a long and late vintage. The fruit was in absolutely no rush to be picked and showed its relaxed appreciation through integrated and balanced phenolic profiles.

Tasting Notes:

A wine embodied with notes of brooding fruits, delicate spice, and underlying umami. There's a savoury impression on the nose with aromas of foraged truffle, dense undergrowth, and tobacco leaf. The palate is splendrous and laden with dried herbs, allspice, dark cherry compote and dark plum. There's an intrinsic vigour with finely etched tannin and generous weight on the finish.

Optimal Drinking: 2022 - 2037

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