The Holyman family had been involved in vineyards in Tasmania for 20 years, but Joe Holyman's career in the wine industry, first as a sales rep, then as a wine buyer, and more recently working in wineries in NZ, Portugal, France, Mount Benson and Coonawarra, gave him an exceptionally broad-based understanding of wine. In 2004 Joe and wife Lou purchased the former Rotherhythe Vineyard, which had been established in 1986, and set about restoring it to its former glory. There are two ranges: the Stoney Rise wines, focusing on fruit and early drinkability, and the Holyman wines, with more structure, more new oak and the best grapes, here the focus on length and potential longevity.

70% whole bunch, 30% new oak. Bright ruby with a beautiful aromatic profile of red cherry, wild strawberry and raspberry pip with aromas of struck flint, spice, crushed amaro herbs, sous bois, hanging game and leaf litter and turned earth. Stony, savoury and wonderfully balanced with a chalky tannin architecture and bright mineral cadence. Date: Sept 2024; Alcohol: 11.5%; Price: $60.00; Drink by: 2038; Rating: 96 Points & Special Value Star; James Halliday Wine Companion

Cherry, blueberry, violet and dried roses, black tea, a damp earthy almost truffle-like edge, some pencilly and spicy oak. It’s medium-bodied, but only just, cherry, raspberry and earthy spice set in a cool ‘mineral’ framework, tannin has a gently grainy sooty edge, and the finish is very long. This is a beautiful wine, and so distinctive. I love it. Echoes of Burgundy from a bygone era, perhaps, though don’t mind me. Yes. Date: Sept 2024; Alcohol: 11.5%; Price: $60; Closure: Screwcap; Drink: 2026-2036; Rated: 95+ Points; Gary Walsh; The Wine Front