2024 Sinapius Close Planted Pinot Noir $70
Sinapius occupies a gently sloping site at Pipers Brook and was first established by the Richardson family in the early 1990s. Originally given the name Golders, the vineyard became Sinapius in 2005 when the property was purchased by young NW Coast couple Vaughn Dell and Linda Morice.
The couple's shared passion for growing grapes and making wine brought them considerable early success. No stone was left unturned as they worked tirelessly to significantly re-develop the vineyard and plant new varieties and clonal selections.
Dell's sudden and unexpected death in 2020 at just 39 years of age was a tragedy for all his family and friends, but remarkably failed to shift Morice's commitment to the couple's long-term goals. Six years on, the wines of Sinapius consistently figure among the best small-batch wines produced anywhere in Tasmania.
The vineyard currently plays host to some 14 clones of Pinot Noir. All are close-planted and meticulously managed to be low-yielding and offer true expressions of the site and grape variety.
Morice is every bit as meticulous in the winery, too, and this release from the outstanding 2024 vintage is a testament to her skill and attention to fine detail. Indeed, this is the winemaking equivalent of a highwire act on a circus trapeze.
Crop yields in 2024 were incredibly low – barely 500g per vine – so every move in the vineyard and winery had to be carefully choreographed to ensure the best possible outcome in wine quality.
Morice has achieved that and more.
This is a superb young Pinot Noir. It may be two years old already, but these are still very early days in the wine's evolution in bottle. In all probablility, it will be very long-lived. Ten years seems a doddle. Twenty years in optimum cellaring conditions also looks do-able, but my goodness that's going to require some incredible self-restraint.
Right now, the colour and aromas are textbook stuff. Deep, rich, and engaging.
The dark cherry flavours are a tad riper than we've come to expect from the vineyard, thankfully pulling up short of being plummy and over-ripe. Rather than being loose-knit and jammy, the palate intensity here is breath-taking, with fine ripe tannins and genuinely cool-climate acidity squaring off like a couple of featherweight boxers.
Be warned. This wine is going to sell like hot cakes, regardless of its cellar door price tag.
Source: 13th Tasmanian Pinot Showcase, held at The Pinot Shop, Launceston, on 25 July 2026
Last page update: 31 July 2026