2022 Ossa Pinot Noir, Tasmania

Deep, bright red-purple colour, and a similarly bright, fresh and youthful aroma of dark cherry laced with spices and a fresh-herb note that could be from grape stems. The wine is brilliantly fresh and vital in the mouth, with intense black-cherry pinot fruit and a lacework of fine but persuasive tannins, then a long and harmonious carry. A smashing young pinot that drinks superbly now and should age extremely well too. Drink to 2037.

96 points Huon Hooke for The Real Review, December 2023

Pinot noir clones 777, 114 and D5V12 from Ossa's East Coast estate, some whole berries and whole clusters, matured 11 months in larger French oak (15% new). Bright ruby with a magenta edge. Notes of red and dark cherries, wild strawberries and raspberry coulis cut with hints of undergrowth, fine spice, mountain herbs and wildflowers. A pure flow of plush fruit in the palate entry, plentiful in spice and light gamey notes with a tight, chalky tannin framework and pulsing mineral line. Finishes long, elegant and quite sweetly fruited. Drink to 2036.

95 points Dave Brookes for Halliday Wine Companion, October 2023

The McElhinney pinot whispering is clearly on show here. Sour cherry, rhubarb, some macerated strawberries and the straw they were grown in, a dusting of five spice. Sinewy and slightly sappy, a subtle underlying gaminess. An energetic pop of mid-palate fruit and a corset-like twist of grippy tannin.

94 points Nick Ryan for The Australian, September 2024

The fruit for this wine came mainly from Ossa’s Belbrook vineyard, with small parcels of fruit selected from Ossa’s parent company’s other sites on the East Coast and in Coal River Valley and Derwent Valley. The parcels were made up of fruit from Pinot clones 777, 114 and D5V12, all fermented separately with small inclusions of whole berries and whole clusters. The wine was matured for eleven months in French oak puncheons of which 15% were new.

About this producer

Ossa Wines is a Tasmanian East Coast producer of fine wines established in 2017 by Rod and Cecile Roberts who from the first day set their goals high, the name appropriately referencing Tasmania’s highest point, Mount Ossa.

With over 20 hectares of vines, the site sits within a larger 600-hectare property called Belbrook in the Wye River Valley close to Wineglass Bay. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay lead the way here, supported by Shiraz and Grüner Veltliner and tiny parcels of Pinot Gris, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc.

The wines are made by New Zealand-born winemaker Liam McElhinney who works in tandem with viticulturist Jay Dillon to present a portfolio of wines that has created quite a buzz.

Ossa has since 2024 been part of the expansive Western Australia-based and premium-focused Fogarty-Hall Wine Group.