2025 Pooley Butchers Hill Pinot Noir, Coal River Valley

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.

Butcher's Hill is one of two estate vineyards in the Coal River Valley, and this single vineyard Pinot Noir reflects the site's natural affinity for structure and depth. The north-facing block sits on dolerite and sandstone soils, hand-picked across ten days in late March. Thirty percent whole bunch inclusion and an extended post-ferment maceration build the wine's structural backbone, with ten months in French oak — a quarter new — adding quiet depth without obscuring the fruit.

The nose is expressive and lifted; candied cherry, raspberry and wild violet, with anise adding a spicy edge. The palate is elegant and finely textured, bright blueberry and raspberry alongside white pepper, with fine tannins that give the wine its shape and its future.

Production is small and these wines move quickly. Anna Pooley's cellaring guidance is fifteen years or more from vintage.