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 Tamar Valley in Tasmania. 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 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 has 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.
After years of missed opportunities and failed connections, we finally caught up with Jim in late 2022 and immediately shipped the small amount of the remaining wines he had left from the outstanding 2021 vintage. These include the estate ‘Intrigue’ Pinot Noir from Huon, ‘Bird’ Pinot Noir from Pipers River and ‘Lutruwita’ Tasmania Pinot Noir. We are even more impressed with the wines from the 2022 and 2023 vintages, characterised by their bright fruit and elegant perfume. We are delighted to get an allocation of ‘Franklinii’ Huon Valley Pinot Noir for the 2023 vintage. We'll have more wine in future, but this will always remain a small producer whose wines are in greater demand than supply. How very Burgundian.
