Clarence House Estate Pinot Noir Reserve 2023

Clarence House was built in 1830 on land that once served as Hobart's own market garden, and the historic Georgian homestead still stands at the heart of the property today, at Clarence Plains, Mt Rumney, just north of Hobart in the foothills of the Meehan Ranges. Present owner David Kilpatrick, a Hobart cardiologist, planted the first vines on the north-east-facing slope in 1998, on a distinctive base of Jurassic dolerite and basalt with naturally low rainfall — soils shared with the neighbouring Coal River Valley. The wine is made by Anna Pooley and her husband Justin Bubb at the Pooley cellar in Cambridge, arguably Tasmania's most accomplished winemaking couple, applying the same exacting care here as they do to their own celebrated labels. The Reserve is a considered selection of the estate's most structural, pristine barrels — predominantly destemmed fruit for wild fermentation, with a small portion of whole bunches added for extra perfume and structure, aged in a mix of new and seasoned French oak barriques and puncheons.

The result shows real depth and poise: red cherry, red plum, and darker-toned fruit meet a touch of boysenberry, floral perfume, and warm spice, with weightier concentration and more toothsome tannin than the estate's standard bottling