2008 Heemskerk Coal River Valley Chardonnay $N/A

It's been almost 15 years since Adelaide Hills company Shaw + Smith purchased Tolpuddle Vineyard in the Coal River Valley. Since then, the east-facing site overlooking Richmond has undergone significant expansion and replanting.

Exacting viticultural standards applied across the site – along with a fastidious approach to winemaking by the enormously talented Adam Wadewitz – has produced vintage after vintage of stellar Chardonnays.

But before Shaw + Smith, there were also years when the property ran on a shoestring budget under its previous ownership.

Even then, the vineyard's pedigree made its presence known. Tolpuddle fruit found its way into early vintages of Tasmanian-grown Domaine Chandon and Arras sparkling wines. Hardys and Penfolds very shrewdly included it among their best multi-regional Chardonnay blends, including Hardys Eileen Hardy and Penfolds Yattarna.

In 2008, Heemskerk Wines – subsequently revived as a premium Tasmanian label by the Foster's Group – purchased a small parcel of Chardonnay from Tolpuddle Vineyard and entrusted it to up-and-coming winemaker Anna Pooley.

Pooley's grandparents had established Cooinda Vale Vineyard at Campania back in 1985. The young Hobart-born winemaker-to-be had virtually grown up among vines and wines. The weekend drive to visit Gran Pooley would take her right past Tolpuddle.

Fast forward 18 years and the 2010 Wine Society Young Winemaker of the Year is now directing winemaking operations at Pooley Wines, not far from the Shaw + Smith site.

Fast forward 18 years and the sharing of this last bottle of carefully cellared Heemskerk Chardonnay raised eyebrows and heart rates around the dinner table. The heavy bottle's screwcap seal had kept the wine as fresh as a daisy. Indeed, on pouring, there were still green highlights evident in the wine's pale colour.

Its aromatics were somewhat shy and retiring at first, but lime and green melon characters gradually wakened from their slumbers. Nuanced French oak oak remained very much in the background. 

The palate was something else again… juicy and vibrant, and completely at odds with the wine's grand old age. Melon and lime came to the fore again, with hints of cashew underscoring the fact that some very expensive Burgundy barriques had been put to good use back in the day.

This was no firecracker of a wine, revealing its majesty in a flash of brilliance before quickly fading away. No, not at all. Those sharing the wine around the table remarked that it seemed almost as fresh as the young Margaret River Chardonnay poured alongside it.

I know it's only July but this will surely prove to be one of the most memorable bottles of 2026. If you happen to know of a bottle that has been similarly stored, be sure to figure among those fortunate to receive an invitation to be present at its opening.

You're in for a rare treat.

Source: Retail purchase followed by extended maturation in the Smith family's wine cellar

Last page update: 30 July 2026