LOWESTOFT MADE PINOT NOIR:
From Liam McElhinney’s first year in Tasmania:
Capital City Best Pinot Noir of Show Trophies
2021: 3 of 7 Trophies (Tasmania won 6 of 7)
2022: 4 of 6 Trophies (Tasmania won 6 of 7)
2023: 2 of 7 Trophies (Tasmania won 4 of 7)
2024: 3 of 4 Trophies ….. up til the 4th show, 2024
(Tasmania have won 3 of 4 so far this year.)
Therefore, Tasmania have won 19 of 24 the Capital City Wine Show Pinot Noir Trophies since the 1st show in 2021.
"One thing that’s obvious is that Liam McElhinney is on a roll... In short, he’s a force for good; he’s making both Tasmanian wine and Australian wine more broadly a better place."
Halliday Wine Companion 2025
In addition, the winery as recently been awarded ‘Best in Show’
at the Decanter World Wine Award 2024, making it the third consecutive year for the Fogarty Group…
EXTRAORDINARY!
Hosted by Liam McElhenney Chief Winemaker
Masterclass: 5:30-7pm, 15 Wines with nibbles $95
Dinner: 7.30pm, 15 Wines & 4 Courses Menu $195
Monday October 28th
The Wine List & Menu (TBC)
1st Course
Chardonnay 2020, Our Price $63
100% Coal River Valley chardonnay; hand picked; whole-bunch pressed; wild fermented and aged 9 months in seasoned French oak barrels; 50% with sulphur dioxide and 50% without, with 3 months bâtonnage. The Fogarty Group has made quite a splash in Tasmania and wines like this make a serious statement about their confidence to play at the top end. The cool 2020 season defines impressive flinty, mineral texture and enduring acid drive, energising perfectly ripe white fruits and impeccably integrated oak.
95 Points Halliday Wine Companion 2022
Chardonnay 2021, Our Price $63
Gold - Royal Hobart Wine Show 2023
Gold - Royal Hobart Wine Show 2022
Tamar Valley/Coal River Valley/Tasman Peninsula-sourced Chardonnay; matured in large format French oak for 10 months. An immediate wash of mealy lemon, grapefruit, white peach and nectarine fruit notes along with hints of fine spice, white flowers, flint, crushed river stone, nougat, oyster shell and sexy French oak. There is a swirl of struck-match complexity in the mix, and the wine presents an expansive palate with plenty of clarity, tension and complexity. A long, dreamy finish, too.
95 Points Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion (August 2023)
2nd Course
Pinot Noir 2018, Our Price $69
Pinot Noir 2019, Our Price $66
Gold - Royal Adelaide Wine Show 2021
Medium-deep red with a tint of purple and stalky and burnt-vegetable aromas, the palate shows good concentration and weight, slightly disjointed at first, with a touch of astringency. There's a hint of char oak and subtle bunchy traces. A structured pinot. Very good, and should improve over the next year or so
93 Points Huon Hooke, The Real Review (June 2022)
Pinot Noir 2020, Our Price $63
Trophy Winner – Best Pinot Noir, Royal Hobart Wine Show 2021
Trophy Winner – Best Tasmanian Red Wine, Royal Hobart Wine Show 2021
Gold - Royal Hobart Wine Show 2021
Gold - Royal Melbourne Wine Awards 2022
Gold - Royal Melbourne Wine Awards 2021
Gold - National Wine Show of Australia 2021
Hand-picked fruit from the Lower Derwent Valley; up to 25% whole bunches; gentle hand plunging and occasional pumpovers. Matured 10 months in 30% new, large-format French oak. Stunning Derwent Valley pinot noir of grace and beauty. Varietally exact red and black cherry fruits are the theme, amplified and never distracted by skilful, subtle work with whole bunches and French oak. Great potential. Purity, class and joy!
95 Points Tyson Steltzer, Halliday Wine Companion (August 2022)
Pinot Noir 2021, Our Price $63
Gold - Royal Hobart Wine Show 2023
Gold - Royal Hobart Wine Show 2022
Gold - Royal Adelaide Wine Show 2023
Gold - Royal Adelaide Wine Show 2022
Gold- Royal Queensland Wine Awards 2023
A bright, complex pinot noir sourced from a number of vineyards, predominately the Lowestoft site overlooking the Derwent River. Pure red and dark cherry, raspberry and wild strawberry fruits with hints of Chinese barbecue shop, five-spice, teacake, mushroom, purple floral and subtle leaf litter tones. There is a nice sense of space and clarity in this wine, fine acidity providing the pulse and a sustained red-fruited finish studded with game, amaro and spice.
95 Points Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion (August 2023)
3rd Course
Single Vineyard Pinot Noir 2019, Our Price $101
Gorgeous aromatic perfumed opening on the nose. This comes from a single Tasmanian vineyard on the Tasman Peninsula. The nose shows spicy cherry and raspberry character with slightly limestone, chalky characters merging with captivating spices. Has such beautiful tannins which almost glow in the dark as they carry the palate effortlessly forward to a long finish. The use of large-format oak contributes to the balance and integration. Combines texture and precision (best drinking: Now to 2029).
94 Points Ray Jordan, The West Australian 2022
Single Vineyard 'Jacoben' Pinot Noir 2020, Our Price $96
Trophy - Best Pinot Noir - Hobart Wine Show 2021
Gold - Hobart Wine Show 2021
The 2020 Single Vineyard Jacoben Pinot Noir is silky and bright in the mouth, with layers of red berry fruit, interspersed by exotically spiced whole-bunch complexity. There are distinct mushroom nuances of enoki and forest floor. The tannins are arranged in a ductile splay across the palate and give rise to the buoyant, almost bouncy fruit. This is concentrated, spicy and very good. Very good, indeed.
94 Points Erin Larkin, The Wine Advocate
Lowestoft Single Vineyard 'Woodlands' Pinot Noir 2021, Our Price $96
Trophy Winner - Grand Champion Wine of Show, Royal Queensland Wine Awards 2022
Trophy Winner - Best Red Table Wine, Royal Queensland Wine Awards 2022
Trophy Winner - Best Pinot Noir, Royal Queensland Wine Awards 2022
Trophy Winner - Best Individual Vineyard Table Wine, Royal Hobart Wine Show 2023
Gold - Royal Queensland Wine Awards 2022
Gold - Royal Hobart Wine Show 2023
Gold - Australian Pinot Noir Challenge 2023
Gold - Global Pinot Noir Masters 2024
Gold - National Wine Show of Australia 2024
Gold - National Wine Show of Australia 2023
Gold - Royal Queensland Wine Awards 2023
Pinot Noir sourced from the Woodlands vineyard in the Coal River Valley. Bright cherry fruit studded with spice, pomegranate, pressed flowers, cranberry, mountain herbs and subtle undergrowth at the core. There is a pleasing depth to the dark cherry and wild strawberry fruits with fine powdery tannins, a bright mineral-laden line and a composed, savoury swish of the tail on the exit.
95 Points Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion (July 2023)
Lowestoft Single Vineyard 'Jacoben' Pinot Noir 2022, Our Price $96
One of 3 - Best in Show - Pinot Noirs & 97 points,
Decanter World Wine Awards 2024 – from 18000+ entrants
Gold - Royal Hobart Wine Show 2023
Gold - Melbourne Royal Wine Awards 2023
Gold - Royal Queensland Wine Awards 2024
Single-vineyard pinot noir from the Lower Derwent Valley. Vibrant ruby with aromas of exotically-spiced red cherry, raspberry and red plum fruits. Hints of dried mountain herbs, citrus blossom, char siu, sandalwood, dried cranberry, amaro, undergrowth and Peking duck. Lithe and sapid on the palate with a touch of sour cherry, pillowy tannins and a spicy, complex finish that flows on for a pleasing amount of time.
95 Points Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion (June 2024)
4th Course
La Maison Pinot Noir 2019, Our Price $137
This is the initial release of La Maison from this single vineyard site near Hobart. Combines all the best elements of great pinot - elegance, precision, subtle finesse and a fine acidity. On the nose, plum and raspberry notes with darker cherry notes emerge. The palate is super intense with a deep, concentrated core. Yet it delivers with so much of that pinot finesse. Richly layered dark fruits provide a dense core with earthy undertones, Christmas cake and a tea-like character bring life and length
97 Points Ray Jordan, The West Australian
Lowestoft La Maison Pinot Noir 2020, Our Price $125
Trophy Winner - Pinot Noir of the Year, Halliday Companion Awards 2023
Trophy Winner - Pinot Noir of Show, National Wine Show of Australia 2021
Trophy Winner - Best Pinot Noir, Melbourne Royal Wine Awards 2021
Top Gold - National Wine Show of Australia 2021
Gold - Melbourne Royal Wine Awards 2021
Gold - Australian Pinot Noir Challenge 2021
The 2020 La Maison Pinot Noir is complex and spicy from the very first. Layers of orange rind, clove, star anise, Earl Grey tea and saffron/turmeric (in the range of yellow spices) jostle with the expected (but no less welcome) cherry, cranberry, redcurrant and pomegranate. The tannins, once in the mouth, feel chalky/dusty/chewy, almost... a plume, rather than a wall. This is a beautiful wine that is graceful, powerful and detailed. Very good.
95 Points Erin Larkin, The Wine Advocate (March 2023)
La Maison Pinot Noir 2021, Our Price $131
Trophy Winner - Best Pinot Noir Royal Melbourne Show 2022
Gold - Royal Melbourne Show 2022
Gold- Australian Pinot Noir Challenge 2023
Pinot noir from the close-planted vines (8300 per hectare) at Lowestoft planted in 1986; matured in French oak (35% new) for 10 months. Pure red plum and dark cherry fruits strut their stuff here with hints of five-spice, sous bois, dried raspberry, cranberry, black tea and vanilla, with light roast game further in the distance. Savoury and true with excellent fruit depth and purity, chalky tannins providing support. I'd expect this to cellar admirably.
96 Points Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion (July 2023)
La Maison Pinot Noir 2022, Our Price $125
Trophy Winner - Jimmy Watson Memorial for Most Outstanding Young Red Melbourne Royal Wine Awards 2023
Trophy Winner - James Halliday Best Pinot Noir, Melbourne Royal Wine Awards 2023
Gold - Melbourne Royal Wine Awards 2023
Trophy Winner - Best Pinot Noir of Show, Royal Adelaide Wine Show 2023
Gold - Royal Adelaide Wine Show 2023
Gold – Australia Pinot Noir Challenge 2023
Boom! You'll probably have to scurry around to secure some bottles of this, as it won the coveted Jimmy Watson Trophy at the 2023 Melbourne Royal Wine Awards, but it is worth the hunt. It's a beautiful wine with a brilliant ruby hue in the glass and aromas of ripe dark cherry, dried cranberry and raspberry coulis underlined by hints of souk-like spice, amaro herbs from the whole-bunch component, pomegranate, tea leaves, char siu, dried citrus rind, sage and Peking duck. Wonderfully composed and silken on the palate with pitch-perfect fruit expression and bunch tannins; textural and complex with a lacy, mineral acid cadence and a finish that lingers for a long time with exotic spice and pure red and dark fruits. Such a beauty.
98 Points Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion (August 2024)
Liam McElhinney Chief Winemaker:
Liam is a New Zealand-born, cool climate winemaking expert with previous experience in wineries across some of New Zealand’s most premium wine regions, as well as working in France, Canada and the United States. His career began in Marlborough, NZ where he worked for a number of esteemed wineries such as The Ned, Saint Clair, Te Pa and Trinity. He has won numerous awards, including the 2023 winner of the prestigious Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy for Best Young Red Wine and a Best in Show Trophy at the Decanter World Wine Awards. He was recently shortlisted for the Halliday Wine Companion's Winemaker of the Year 2025.
lowestoft.wine