Joe Holyman describes his public persona as somewhere between Gary Farr and d’Arenberg’s Chester Osborn. Though hardly pinpoint, this is still accurate insofar as he’s probably somewhere on that spectrum. It’s also quite amusing. But the point is that Joe prefers telling you something you want to know rather than mansplaining stuff you don’t care about. Sometimes, what you see is what you get. And sometimes, what you get is bloody good.
This goes to the heart of the Holyman wines: they only show what matters. They’re purely and proudly the product of a site and a vintage. Joe is not one to agonise over the painstaking clonal composition of his wines—he couldn’t anyway; the bloke who put in the first vines in the mid-’80s took cuttings from here and there, and Joe didn’t write the clones down for subsequent plantings, whose row-end tags have long since blown off. The proportion of Pinot bunches may change, but this, too, merely reflects the extent of lignified stems the year gives. The fruit ferments block by block with indigenous yeast, then goes into oak from the same coopers, forests and toast levels every year—so even the wood is seasonal rather than a stylistic lever to pull. “I don’t know,” Joe shrugs. “Some people might say it’s lazy, in a way, because you’re not really making wine as such.”
The approach—or non-approach—is not novel, but it is a distinctive take on terroir expression, one that is frank and bold. And why not? Joe’s been working at the Holyman site for 21 years. It’s a great vineyard; that’s why he chose it. It grows low yields of intensely flavoured grapes with plentiful structure. Project X, the 100% whole-bunch, new-puncheon Pinot, derives its edge solely from the season, too. If you want overthought, overwrought Pinot Noir, you’re barking up the wrong tree.
That is what makes tasting every new vintage of the Holyman wines—and following each vintage’s arc in the cellar—so exciting. The Chardonnay always bristles with bright fruit and energy; it’s one of those wines that takes you with it. The Pinots likewise have a structure and tension that bid you to follow.
It’s not so much that Joe lets his wines do the talking; it’s more that the season and the site have a story to tell, and he’d prefer to shut up and listen. So, pull up a chair and pour yourself a glass. You’re going to love what you hear…
Vintages 2024 & 2023
2024 was a warm, dry, relatively easy vintage with reasonable crop levels. It was the first time that picking started before the end of February. 2023 presented more challenges but ultimately shaped up to be a remarkable vintage, too. The warmer weather of both resulted in wines that are approachable yet layered with complexity.
2024 Holyman Chardonnay RRP $66
For this wine, the grapes were specially selected from a small block on our 38-year-old vineyard. They were pressed as whole bunches before going through a natural yeast ferment in 100% new French oak puncheons.
The nose shows white peach with hints of citrus and nougat. The palate is taut and racy in the mouth with a powerful finish. The oak component is well balanced with the weight of the fruit and the tight acid. While it is enjoyable now, it will benefit from aging in the cellar for five or more years. – Joe Holyman, Stoney Rise
Grapefruit, white peach, lemon zest, aniseed, cinnamon and cedar oak, some vanilla and white flower perfume. It’s an intense and tightly-coiled wine, though it’s not lacking in pleasure factor even as a young wine. Bright grapefruity acidity, green olive, firm flinty and chalky texture, with a lively finish of excellent length. Mouth-watering and zesty to close. An excellent release, and while it’s good now, it’ll be even better with a couple more years in bottle. 96 points. Gary Walsh, The Winefront Oct 2025
2024 Holyman Pinot Noir RRP $66
This is the wine I love to make and drink. When we make the Holyman wines, we do so in a more traditional Burgundian style. They are not reserve wines, but stylistically different, and that is why we have a different label. The use of 70% whole bunches in the ferment gives this wine its structure and finesse. The wine fermented with wild yeast that is present in the vineyard after a one-week cold soak to draw out colour and tannins from the grape skins. Due to the warm vintage, this is a richer wine than the 2023, while still retaining the Holyman structure and balance. The fruit characters are black cherry and plum with hints of mushroom and coffee. The palate is rich and powerful, and will slowly develop over the next five to 10 years in the bottle. Joe Holyman, Stoney Rise
Beautifully fragrant, supple and silky pinot from one of the finest producers in the country. Joe Holyman’s wines always deliver pleasure and intrigue in equal measure. The nose nods to classic Christmas condiments. Beautifully balanced, and finishes with soft, sandy tannins. 95 points. Nick Ryan, The Australian Dec 2025
Cherry, dark raspberry, mint and earth, a spicy cinnamon and floral perfume too. It’s medium-bodied, well-etched with fine but firm tannin, quite ‘minerally’ too, an Earl Grey tea and floral mouth-perfume, crisp yet strict on a finish of excellent length. Oak shows a bit at present, though it won’t later. Very good. 95 points. Gary Walsh, The Winefront Oct 2025
The 2024 Holyman Pinot Noir features wholly estate grown fruit from 39-year-old dry-grown vines (a small 0.6-hectare block). The wine was matured in new French oak puncheons (30%), while the remainder saw one- to two-year-old oak. Aromatically, the wine leads with pomegranate and vanilla paste, pressed rose petals, blood orange/chinotto and bramble. In the mouth, this has levity and clarity—the former is surprising given the potency of the aromatics. This is an elegant wine—it lingers. 12% alcohol, sealed under screw cap. 94 points. Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate Dec 2025
2023 Holyman Project X Pinot Noir RRP $95
This is the final year that Project X will come from a block we like to call Boris, which we have had to replant. It’s Pinot Noir for Pinot Noir lovers. Currently, the wine is very big on structure, but it does have some fresh fruit. It is dark and brooding, but not overpowered by either the stalks or the oak. It will really reward with another 5+ years in the cellar. The quantities are tiny, but for us, it is a great expression of what we can achieve with our vineyard. Joe Holyman, Stoney Rise
Dark cherry, soot and smoky bits, ginger biscuits and five spice, and quite some dried-rose perfume. It’s medium-bodied, cherry and boysenberry, fresh blackberry acidity, again lots of spice, but also has a distinct ‘mineral’ character it, and the juiciness and succulence of it mitigates much of the vigorous winemaking overlay. It’s crisp and blue fruited on a finish of excellent length and dusty grip. It’ll need some time to resolve, of that I’m certain. 94+ points. Gary Walsh, The Winefront Oct 2025
The 2023 Project X Pinot Noir is lovely and represents an amalgam of aspects: 2023 was a cooler, wetter vintage thanks to the La Niña weather pattern that continued for a third year, and this has imbued the wine with a sense of delicacy and finesse. Then, we must consider the parameters of the wine: 100% whole bunches and 100% new oak. One may assume that whole bunches and new oak would sit heavily atop the cool-year fruit, and yet, we know what they say about making assumptions… This is really well balanced, and it is spicy and silky, with an attractive, mossy, forest floor note that creeps in through the finish. Certainly, this is fine, almost lightly framed, but it lingers and penetrates in its way. It is really good. 12% alcohol, sealed under screw cap. 94 points. Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate Dec 2025
STONEY RISE
2024 Stoney Rise Grüner Veltliner RRP $39
This year marks a new beginning for us, as we have sourced some young vine Gruner from the East Coast of Tasmania to blend with our 19-year-old vines from our vineyard. The winemaking is unchanged. The grapes were trodden on in bins and left to soak on skins for 24 hours. They were then pressed to tank for a natural ferment on full solids. We stirred the tank daily to build texture on the palate before it settled after fermentation on its solids, and it was only racked off solids in time for bottling without fining or filtration. – Joe Holyman
Salted almonds, ginger and lemon peel tea, white pepper, good chicken stock umami character, lime and honey. It’s saline, nutty, has something of lemon and lime pie richness, green olive, dusty peppery texture, with a bright and long finish, featuring a mint and dried flower perfume. Lots of energy and crunch. So present in the glass. Delightful. 94 points. Gary Walsh, The Winefront Oct 2024
2024 Stoney Rise Chardonnay RRP $39
100% fruit from the Coal River this year, fermented in an old foudre and a mix of new and one-year-old 500-litre puncheons. This year, we pressed the grapes without treading, as we believed that the warmer season would yield the freshest results. As usual, the wine does not go through malolactic fermentation to retain its acidity. – Joe Holyman
Coal River Valley chardonnay. Light straw in the glass with inviting aromas of white peach, nectarine and citrus with hints of soft spice, white flowers, oatmeal, crushed stone, nougat, clotted cream and a wisp of struck flint. A picture of clarity and tension with a swoop of pithy texture, a mealy tide slowly retreating, and some lovely grapefruit pith notes as the wine retreats. 95 points. Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion Sep 2024
2025 Stoney Rise Savagnin RRP $48
2025 was a fantastic growing season here on the Tamar River. Warm days and cool nights was how it was. The nose has the usual saline air, pistachio and ginger. The palate has a definitive savoury edge to it, with some hints of lime pith and some spice. There is also some grip on the palate from the grapes being soaked in their juice for three days before fermentation. The acidity is well balanced, and it drives the long finish. – Joe Holyman
Granny Smith apple, a salt crusted sourdough kind of thing, pistachio nuts and chamomile, plus a little ginger. It’s light, kind of sappy, has something of lick of 9V battery energy, peanuts, lime and green apple, a slight kombucha tang here, some chalky texture, with a lively finish of excellent length. Here’s an energetic and distinctive wine that’s also varietal and refreshing. Yes. 94 points. Mike Bennie, The Winefront Nov 2025
2023 Stoney Rise Tradition Savagnin RRP $64
It was pretty exciting for us a couple of years ago to find out a former professional cyclist growing Savagnin just outside of Devonport on Tasmania’s North West Coast. After a couple of calls and a few visits, we convinced them to sell us some fruit from this vintage. The fruit was picked and chilled for three days. It’s a perfect pair with the Trousseau we grow ourselves. We then stomped the grapes in the bins and left them for another three days before pressing them into old oak for fermentation. This wine was co-fermented with a 25% portion of Chardonnay from the same vineyard. We leave it without topping to oxidise to a level I am comfortable with. And then top it up, and it stays in oak for 2 years. We think this is the best of the three we have done. – Joe Holyman
This is 75% Savagnin and 25% Chardonnay. Saline, nutty, with a kind of golden taste, but also fresh. The flavours are indistinct in a way, just a very good white wine of complexity and interest, with fine powdery texture, maybe pear and lemon oil, orange peel, with something of a chamomile and lemon thyme perfume, a preserved lemon flavour and alpine herb on a finish of excellent length and subtle fino tang. Such a distinctive and good wine. 94 points. Gary Walsh, The Winefront March 2025
2024 Stoney Rise Trousseau RRP $47
One of the reasons we searched high and low around Australia to find this variety to plant was that it has a great structure and a savoury finish that makes it perfect to accompany food. Cuttings were from the Happs vineyard in WA. We planted vines in 2014 and 2017.
This vintage, as always, only had 8 days on skins. We aim for a fresh, juicy red with this variety, so we press it early and let the wine complete its fermentation in the amphora. This is a richer style than in previous years; the slightly warmer ’24 season gave the grapes darker skins and some more tannin. The nose is all red cherry with a hint of mocha and mushroom. The palate has some brighter, redcurrant-like flavours and is quite plush in the mouth. There is a juicy freshness, but enough depth to give the wine a few years of cellaring if you can resist the urge. – Joe Holyman
2024 Stoney Rise Pinot Noir RRP $39
2024 was a warm season with little rainfall and warmer-than-usual nights. This meant that the vines continued to work day and night, resulting in an earlier-than-usual harvest. The yields in some areas were slightly above average, but due to the consistent temperatures and warm nights, the fruit ripened beautifully and allowed us to pick fruit at lower Baumes, which has resulted in lower alcohol wines.
Our 2024 Stoney Rise Pinot Noir is 100% estate-grown, the first time in many years. The fruit was cold-soaked for 5 days before undergoing natural fermentation. Once the fermentation was finished, the wine was basket-pressed into French oak. The majority of the oak was two years old or older, most of them either puncheons or foudre. – Joe Holyman
Dark cherry, baked plums, spice, a little mint, with dried herbs and earth. It’s flavoursome, but kind of stony with fine graphite tannin, a subtle beetroot earthiness, empty chocolate box, some orange zest and amaro, with a cocoa and dry grainy finish of good length. It’s a darker and more forceful vintage of this wine, but it does have a fair bit of X-factor. 92 points. Gary Walsh, The Winefront March 2025
