2023 Pooley Margaret Pooley Tribute Riesling, Coal River Valley

Riesling sourced from the Cooinda Vale Vineyard near Campania, whole-bunch pressed and matured for five months on fine lees in old French oak puncheons. Light straw in the glass with aromas of green apple, lime and lemon fruits and hints of orange blossom, makrut lime, crushed stone, lemongrass, clotted cream and pressed wildflowers. Long, focused and sporting a tubular palate shape, with a tight, steely acid cadence and concentration, and excellent length of flavour, it gives the feeling that it will repay careful cellaring well. Drink to 2038.

97 points Dave Brookes for Halliday Wine Companion (Special Value), August 2024

Very pale lemon with lime tints at the core to an almost water-white rim. Subtle nose of lemon curd and night jasmine aromatics. Intense, linear and incredibly focused on the palate. It is built around lemon and lime fruit but it is its tension and unabashed power that are the driving force here. Acidity is everywhere but remains in control, sweetness a deft counterbalance to the acid so everything sings in tune and the length is prodigious. As it lingers, a note of the sea adds a further level of intrigue. Built for the long haul. Drink to 2044

97 points Stuart Knox for The Real Review, January 2024

Pooley Wines was established in 1985 when Denis and Margaret Pooley planted ten rows of Riesling and seven rows of Pinot Noir on their farm at Cooinda Vale in the Coal River Valley — a retirement project that quietly became one of Tasmania's most admired wine estates. Three generations of the family have shaped it since, with winemaker Anna Pooley now at the helm, bringing precision and a deep sense of place to everything produced under the label.

Margaret Pooley’s namesake wine comes from the oldest Riesling plantings at Cooinda Vale, hand-picked and whole-bunch pressed before fermentation in stainless steel and five months on fine lees in old French oak puncheons. The latter builds texture and weight without introducing oak character, leaving the fruit and the site to speak clearly.

Dry, focused and precise, with lime, green apple and lemon blossom on the nose alongside hints of crushed stone and wildflowers. The palate is linear and concentrated, driven by a tight acid structure that gives the wine both its presence now and its promise over time.

This is a Riesling of considerable tension, built for the long haul. Have patience and revisit every five years from now.