The Holyman family had been involved in vineyards in Tasmania for 20 years, but Joe Holyman's career in the wine industry, first as a sales rep, then as a wine buyer, and more recently working in wineries in NZ, Portugal, France, Mount Benson and Coonawarra, gave him an exceptionally broad-based understanding of wine. In 2004 Joe and wife Lou purchased the former Rotherhythe Vineyard, which had been established in 1986, and set about restoring it to its former glory. There are two ranges: the Stoney Rise wines, focusing on fruit and early drinkability, and the Holyman wines, with more structure, more new oak and the best grapes, here the focus on length and potential longevity.

Very sappy and spicy, and yet, there is flavour here. Dried roses and violet, raspberry and cranberry crunch, a little spicy cinnamon oak, plenty of tea and ‘mineral’ stuff, and mint. It’s brisk, cherry and raspberry, with pippy acidity, firm dusty and slightly scratchy tannin, yet the perfume and energy here is kind of compelling. It takes a brave man to pick at this level of ripeness, but the wine carries it off. I’m thinking old school Chambolle, for the perfume and crisp energy, and the finish is bright and long. Date: Sept 2023; Alcohol: 11.5%; Price: $60; Closure: Screwcap; Drink: 2025-2036; Rated: 94+ Points; Gary Walsh; The Wine Front