2022 Frogmore Creek SBS Pinot Noir Cortaillod Clone $48
When Frogmore Creek purchased Campania's Roslyn Vineyard in 2009, it wasn't long before the company's owners and senior winemaker Alain Rousseau decided the rugged 45ha site warranted further investigation. With far too much Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot planted there, a vine grafting program was soon established.
Its primary goal was to introduce new varieties to the company portfolio. New clonal selections of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir were also added.
Among the latter planted was a block of the Swiss clone known as Cortaillod. The rows here are south-west facing, and for good reason. Vineyard yields are typically low on the dry, windswept Roslyn site so the unorthodox row orientation favours slower, later ripening of this distinctly different Pinot Noir clone.
The red iron-laden soils that lay beneath the vines are also markedly different from other parts of the vineyard and contribute considerable structure to the wines grown there, Rousseau says.
The small-berried clone itself is found in the French-speaking parts of Switzerland. It's mentioned in nursery catalogues there dating back at least as far as 1820. It was brought into Australia in 1969, well before the popular Dijon selections that have found new homes in Tasmania.
A small plot of the Cortaillod clone is included among Sinapius Vineyard's current Pinot Noir selections at Pipers Brook.
This 2022 wine is part of Frogmore Creek's Single Block Series. It displays the richness and fine tannins that typically characterise the Coal River Valley's reds, albeit with a punchy intensity as well. Now four years of age, the wine in the glass shows some ruby red colour development.
Varietal aromas of raspberry, glacé cherry and kitchen spices have an undergrowth/forest floor dimension to them, something that perhaps contributes to the savouriness of the wine's red fruit flavours.
There's already plenty of complexity and length of flavour to enjoy, but the intensity and structure of the fruit that's present at the moment suggests there's further development likely over the next 4-6 years.
This is an interesting, well-priced addition to the Tasmanian Pinot-sphere.
Source: 13th Tasmanian Pinot Showcase, held at The Pinot Shop, Launceston, on 25 July 2026
Last page update: 30 July 2026