2019 Supply River Mill Pinot Noir, Northern Tasmania

Supply River Mill is a tiny northern Tasmanian project with the sort of under-the-radar appeal that makes Tassie wine hunting so much fun. The cool vineyards around the Tamar Valley benefit from long daylight hours, crisp nights and the moderating influence of the nearby waterways, giving the wines perfume and freshness without sacrificing flavour. This is small-scale Pinot with a distinctly Tasmanian voice rather than a glossy, overworked style.

The 2019 vintage produced beautifully composed wines in northern Tasmania, with the cool growing conditions allowing slow ripening and excellent aromatic development. Now with several years in bottle, the wine is moving beyond its youthful red fruit and beginning to show the earthy, savoury complexity that makes mature cool-climate Pinot so rewarding.

Translucent ruby moving gently towards garnet, the nose opens with sour cherry, wild strawberry and cranberry alongside rose petal and dried thyme. With air come forest floor, black tea, porcini and a little orange peel. The palate is silky and finely shaped, with red fruit carried by fresh acidity and soft, savoury tannins. Cherry skin, dried herbs and earthy spice gather through the middle before a lingering finish of red berries, tea leaf and woodland earth.

This wants roast duck with cherries, pork tenderloin with mushrooms, grilled quail, mushroom and Gruyère tart or crispy-skinned salmon with lentils. Our pick is the quail smoky, crispy skin and earthy mushrooms against mature Tasmanian Pinot sounds like an excellent reason to hide the second bottle.

Cellaring: Drink now to 2031.