Description
- 2024 Toolangi Pauls Lane Pinot Noir
- 2025 Toolangi Pinot Noir
- 2025 Toolangi Pauls Lane Chardonnay
- 2024 Toolangi Chardonnay
2024 Toolangi Pauls Lane Pinot Noir
Chardonnay is probably the best grape at Toolangi but the Pinot there is really on the come up thesse days.
This release is sourced entirely from E Block - just 10 rows of 25-year-old MV6 vines that consistently grow the most expressive fruit on the property. Sitting right on the eastern edge of the original Pauls Lane plantings, these vines dig into a patch of dirt that naturally throttles yields and pumps out intense, concentrated grapes.
Owner/winemaker Kaspar Hermann kept 50% of the bunches intact for the ferment, leaving the juice on skins for 15 days to build structure before pressing it off to French oak barriques. It saw just a single barrel of new wood (about 10% of the blend) and rested for nine months before bottling.
With only 200 bottles produced, there is not much to go around.
95 points
"Subtle and complex aromas of forest fruits and hedgerow together with some spice and ferrous notes. Medium bodied, this energetic wine fills out nicely across the palate with ripe, juicy tannins and bright acidity keeping this energetic and fresh."
- Philip Rich (The Wine Companion)
2025 Toolangi Pinot Noir
Kaspar Hermann is coming up on eight years running the show at Toolangi, and the wines have never looked more comfortable in their own skin.
This Pinot pulls from a solid block of 22-year-old vines tucked into their Dixon's Creek site. The team held off picking until the third week of March, bringing the fruit in over two quick days - a fast and furious vintage once things got going but with great results.
The cellar work sees 10% whole bunch, while the rest of the parcel fermented as whole berries. It spent 14 days on skins before being pressed off into oak, seeing just 10% new wood for nine months.
It drinks with the kind of clarity and snap you want from modern Yarra Pinot. It's a seriously over-delivering bottle that brings all the hallmark transparency of the estate without demanding a special occasion to rip the top off.
93 points
"An exuberant bouquet of cherry, cranberry and delicate floral scents. The light- to medium-bodied palate is juicy fruited and gently structured. Delicious now and over the next three to five years."
- Philip Rich (Halliday Wine Companion)
2025 Toolangi Pauls Lane Chardonnay
This wine from Kaspar Hermann proves he's making some of the most compelling Chardonnay in the Yarra Valley right now.
The fruit is sourced from just 20 rows of original 1995 plantings in the estate's D Block. After a couple of lean years, a mild spring gave these mature I10V3 clone vines a chance to bounce back, with the team picking on March 2nd - a full three weeks earlier than the cool 2024 harvest the year before.
Kaspar crushed and destemmed the grapes before pressing them to French oak (20% new) for nine months on lees. He intentionally blocks malolactic fermentation here, letting the natural punch and acid of these older vines drive the show.
It hits the palate with intent, lots of bright, sharp citrus, ripe stone fruit, a hit of spice, and a salty, briny flick on the finish. It’s tight, energetic, and completely delicious full-tilt Chardonnay from a winemaker at the top of his game.
96 points
"It's generous on the palate, to be sure, but there's a fine thread of grapefruit-like acidity on the long, structured finish. A lovely wine that'll age well over the next six to eight years at least."
- Philip Rich (The Wine Companion)
2024 Toolangi Chardonnay
Toolangi is becoming one of the Yarra Valley's most essential stops for premium Chardonnay. Established back in 1995 right on the edge of the Toolangi State Forest, this site has always had serious pedigree, and Kaspar is coaxing out its best.
After a brutal run of poor flowering and tiny crops, the 2024 vintage finally gave Yarra growers a break, delivering better yields of incredibly powerful, concentrated fruit. This release pulls from vines averaging 23 years of age, utilising a mix of Gingin, Mendoza, and I10V3 clones that dig deep into fine clay loam soils.
He uses just 10% new wood in the mix, letting the wine ferment on lees and mature in barrel for nine months before bottling. Nothing complicated.
The result is a ridiculously drinkable expression of Yarra Chardonnay. It punches way above its weight class, delivering top-tier pedigree at a very fair price.
93 points
" The palate is flavoursome, balanced and gently saline. An excellent version of this affordably priced wine. Drink now and over the next 3–4 years."
- Philip Rich (The Wine Companion)
93 points
"Tasty wine offering a good volume of flavour... This is an excellent Chardonnay and it has a certain strike and electric appeal. Lovely."
- Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)
| Country | Australia |
| Region | Yarra Valley |
| Australian State | VIC |
| Reviewed By |
Halliday Wine Companion |
| Size | 7 |
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