Tolpuddle Vineyard was established in 1988 and it took its name from the Tolpuddle Martyrs: English convicts transported to Tasmania for forming an agricultural union. The leader of the Martyrs, George Loveless, served some of his sentence working on a property near Richmond, part of which is now Tolpuddle Vineyard. The vineyard is planted with mature Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vines, facing north-east, and sloping gently up from Back Tea Tree Road. The soil is light silica over sandstone and of moderate vigour, ensuring well-balanced vines producing grapes of great flavour and intensity. 

Martin Shaw and Michael Hill Smith MW purchased the vineyard in 2011 and are fully committed to seeing Tolpuddle Vineyard recognised as one of Australia’s great single vineyards. 

Ooh-boy the Tolpuddle Chardonnay is in a good place. I guess you could call this vintage a 'classic'. A little more restraint and line than the '23; a little more filigree and nuance, those flinty/struck-match tones a little further back in the mix and woven through the wine in an intricate pattern. White peach, lemon, grapefruit and nectarine fruits are high fidelity and beautifully poised, suffused with soft spice, clover and grapefruit blossom, crushed stone, cinnamon, a murmur of vanillin oak and spiced poached pear, grilled hazelnuts, crème fraîche and a whisper of onshore breeze. Everything is in sharp relief, with the purest of fruit. It's all detail and tension, with a textural glaze of grapefruit pith and a sapid, mineral line that builds like a crescendo before releasing, finishing long and true. It's a stunner. Date: Aug 2025; Alcohol: 13%; Drink by: 2040; Rating: 98 Points & Special Value Star; James Halliday Wine Companion