Jim Chatto makes some of the finest Pinot Noir in Tasmania, quite a statement given the calibre of winemaking on the island. Yet, as astutely observed by James Halliday, “every wine Jim Chatto touches turns to gold”.
Jim ended up in Tasmania by chance. In 1998, after studying at Charles Sturt University, his first winemaking job was at Rosevears Estate in the island’s Tamar Valley. The stint was short-lived, as he moved to the Hunter Valley in 2000 to become head winemaker of McWilliams, which included making the acclaimed Mount Pleasant wines. As a result, Jim became only the fourth winemaker at Mount Pleasant since the legendary Maurice O’Shea founded the estate in 1921. Yet during his time in Tasmania, Jim met and married Daisy. Together, they acquired a vineyard in Tasmania’s Huon Valley, which Jim started planting with Pinot Noir in 2007.
The contrast between the climatic conditions of Tasmania and the Hunter was almost as great as between his day job at McWilliams and his part-time job making minuscule quantities of Pinot Noir from his Isle Vineyard at Glaziers Bay. He made his first vintage of Chatto in 2012, having the fruit shipped to the Hunter Valley, where he could closely follow fermentation.
Jim and his wife, Daisy, finally returned to live at Isle Vineyard in January 2017. This was the first year their wine was made on-site. Smoke taint from bushfires in 2019 left the entire Huon region unable to harvest fruit, but thanks to friends at Marion’s and Pipers Brook vineyards in the North of Tasmania, Jim and Daisy were able to keep going. At this time, Jim also blended his first Tasmanian regional wine from across these parcels, which is now called ‘Lutruwita’. In 2019, Jim was named Gourmet Traveller Winemaker of the Year, joining six of our other Australian producers in winning this esteemed award.
In the wake of the fires, Jim decided to work a vintage in Burgundy in 2019 after being introduced to fellow Australian Jane Eyre. “I hadn't done any research and just thought he was another Aussie winemaker coming for the vintage. When he was here, he was named Winemaker of the Year!” recalls Jane. Their friendship resulted in two new wines: Jane’s Tasmanian Pinot Noir and Jim’s two barrels of Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru ‘Les Vergelesses’ In 2020, Jim and Daisy had a successful harvest at Isle Vineyard with parcels from North Tasmania and neighbours in Huon, allowing Jim to release multiple single vineyard wines alongside their regional blend.
The wines are getting better with every release, characterised by their bright fruit and elegant perfume, with the flesh and structure to age well. From the 2024 vintage, we are delighted to have received an allocation of Jim’s flagship estate wine, `Isle`, an elegant wine of purity and balance that is true to its site. The ‘Intrigue’ Pinot Noir, also from his estate vineyard in Huon, is a more dark-fruited expression of the vineyard. The single vineyard ‘Bird’ Pinot Noir from Pipers River is delicate and pretty, ‘Franklinii’ Huon Valley Pinot Noir is lively and vivacious, and the ‘Lutruwita’ Tasmania Pinot Noir, sourced from five growing regions across Tasmania, is complex with fresh acidity and silky tannins.
The fruit for this wine is sourced from Jim's estate vineyard, Isle, in the Huon Valley. It is a small north-facing site situated on hillside slopes approximately 50 metres above the Huon River. The soils comprise clay loam over Permian calcareous mudstone, providing both structure and mineral delicacy. Planted in 2007 at a density of 5,000 vines per hectare, the vineyard is trained to both single and double Guyot and includes eight Pinot Noir clones. Isle represents a strict selection of the estate’s finest fruit each year; in 2024, the blend draws exclusively from clones 777, 667 and Abel.
The 2024 vintage was unusually warm and dry, delivering what many consider the driest summer on record, conditions that encouraged generous ripening and concentration in the grapes. The vines thrived under sustained warmth, attaining full maturity with excellent balance and intensity.
The grapes were hand-picked and fermented with indigenous yeasts, incorporating 15% whole bunches to enhance aromatic lift and structure. The must was managed through gentle hand-plunging and pigeage over a 10-day maceration on skins before pressing. Maturation followed for 10 months in French oak barriques with no new oak used. 25% of the barrels were second-fill, 50% third-fill and 25% fourth-fill, ensuring subtle oak influence and preserving the purity and finesse of the fruit.
The wine shows impressive depth of colour and delivers profound intensity wrapped in an elegant, finely balanced frame. Dark berry fruits and heady spice drive the aromatics and palate, supported by layered, silky tannins that give shape and refinement. The finish is long and persistent, carrying its concentrated fruit with poise and finesse.
