Clarence House Estate Reserve Chardonnay 2023

David Kilpatrick, a Hobart consulting cardiologist, purchased Clarence House and surrounding land in the late 1990s and planted the first vines in 1998. The 1830-built Georgian homestead at Clarence Plains, Mt Rumney sits on a north-east-facing slope just north of Hobart in southern Tasmania. The first wines were produced in 2002. Initial plantings of about 6 hectares have expanded over time to roughly 16 hectares, now covering Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Blanc, Tempranillo, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Wine production was contracted out from the start; current vintages are made by Anna Pooley and Justin Bubb at the Pooley cellar in Cambridge — the same Coal River Valley winemaking team that runs Pooley Wines and the Bubb + Pooley label. The Clarence House style emphasises cool-climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay clarity, with the alternative-varietal blocks (Tempranillo, Pinot Blanc) producing experimental cuvées.

Cellar-list Chardonnay; pairs with crustacean, roast chicken with truffle, hard cheeses; lay down 5–8 years.