Pooley Elizabeth Anne Chardonnay 2022

Pooley Wines is a family-owned vineyard that was established in 1985 by Denis and Margaret Pooley, who planted vines on the banks of the Coal River in southern Tasmania. Initially, the vineyard was meant to be a retirement plan for the couple, but it soon turned into a passion project that flourished into a renowned premium cool-climate site. With the help of their son and grandchildren, three generations of the Pooley family have continued to bring meticulous care to their Cooinda Vale vineyard. In 2003, John Pooley and his wife Libby expanded their estate and established a second vineyard, Butcher’s Hill, with its first vintage produced in 2007. The passing of Margaret Pooley in 2010 marked a turning point for the family business, with Margaret’s granddaughter, Anna Pooley, returning to the family business in 2013. From this point onward, Pooley Wines has been made entirely by family hands. Today, more than 35 years after its establishment, Pooley Wines is recognised as one of Australia’s most renowned cool-climate producers. The Halliday Wine Companion awarded Pooley Wines the 2023 Winery of the Year, a testament to the family’s philosophy of making wines that reflect their unique environment while pushing the quality of the grapes and the wines even further. The Coal River Valley produces some of Australia’s finest wines, and Pooley Wines is at the forefront of this prestigious industry.

The Coal River Valley is a region rich in geological diversity, with alluvial soils, Permian mudstone and sandstone outcrops, Triassic sandstones, shales and coal measures, as well as numerous injections of Jurassic dolerite in pockets of the area. Tertiary basalt sediments and ferricrete deposits are also common throughout the Valley, contributing to the unique characteristics of Pooley Wines' Butchers Hill vineyard. Despite being drier than its northern and southern counterparts, the region still benefits from the surrounding Southern Ocean, providing a long ripening period moderated by a maritime climate. Pooley Wines implements a strong focus on biological farming and regenerative agricultural practices, allowing them to future-proof themselves from a changing climate while maintaining productivity and resilience.

The Cooinda Vale vineyard is ideally positioned facing northeast overlooking the Coal River in southern Tasmania. On the 43.5 Latitude line, the vineyard is planted on northeast facing slopes at 130m above sea level. This is a unique microclimatic location, being well protected from prevailing winds but still highly influenced by maritime conditions. The long growing season, which can extend into May, with high sunshine hours, predominately winter rainfall and the occasional frost and snow, combine to provide an excellent condition for cool climate grape varieties, such as Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Riesling and Chardonnay.

The lead-up to 2022 vintage included one of the wettest winters on record, a cool drying spring into summer with high humidity. All these factors led to healthy canopies and bunch numbers. The cool conditions, especially around the time of flowering resulted in some poor fruit set in earlier flowering varieties. This delivered a combination of small and large size berries to form reducing the overall yields and intake in those varieties. The vintage started a couple of days later than usual, but with the high humidity/lowered diurnal range, our late ripening varieties were picked slightly earlier than usual. Overall, a quality vintage. The fruit for the Elizabeth Anne Chardonnay was hand-picked then cooled overnight to 5 degrees. Whole bunch pressed directly to barrel the following day. Wild fermentation on full solids, in two 1 year old French oak Barriques (Marcel Cadet). 11 months maturation in barrel. 50% malolactic fermentation.

The Pooley Elizabeth Anne Chardonnay 2022 has soft notes of lime sorbet, buttered toast and minerality on the nose with green apple, white peach and apricot following on the palate. Finishing with citrus peel, toasted hazelnuts and a silky texture.

The Finer Details
Style - White Wine
Varietal - Chardonnay
Country - Australia
Region - Coal River Valley, Tasmania
Vintage - 2022
Bottle Size - 750ml
ABV - 12.5%