Chatto is a serious winemaker producing tiny quantities of pinot noir from the far south of Tasmania in the Huon Valley. This region is the likely future of high quality Australian pinot noir, though it remains the case that you will find Australia’s best examples of pinot noir in Macedon, Mornington and Geelong. This wine from Chatto however is a very good one and it has a style to it that it is sui generis. This sense – and forgive the Latin but it is the expression that is closest to what I am trying to say – is my general rule as to when a new wine region has a true terroir, and therefore, is of great interest. Coonawarra for example has it. As does of course Burgundy. Now, back to the wine and less positively, this wine has quite an obvious and persistent reductive aroma of struck match, smoke and gunflint. The palate however has a delicious suppleness to it, with notes of cherry, stones and high acidity tucking it in, showing its true character. There is a balance and subtlety to this wine that makes it very attractive. In some senses, the wine provides mirrors the true pinot noir experience – frustration and joy, together. I hope to score it higher if the reduction resolves. Review Rating: Good to Very Good (★★★☆, 89 points). Website: Chatto Wines. Tasted: September 2026.
