It’s no shrinking violet. It’s pinot noir in a cursive, elaborate script. Herbs flounce, spices flay, twigs trip through sour cherry and beet. A gentle infusion of woodsmoke, orange peel and roasted nuts adds to the feeling that summer has passed, and autumn is well upon us. I like this. It’s complex in a seamless, engaging manner. It combines personality with discipline; it finishes taut and controlled. If it was walking down the street you’d sneak a second look or two.

The 2015 pinot noir could be the best wine yet. The nose is incredibly appealing, with almost sweet dark cherry fruit ­intertwined with stemmy herbs. If you can bear to leave those aromas behind, your first taste mixes smooth sweet berry fruit with sour cherry, with slightly spicy, slightly smoky tannins leading through to a long, long finish. Delicious and irresistible.

Demonstrating the virtues of Tasmania for pinot noir, this stunning wine comes from a single site in the Coal River Valley. Notes of sour cherry and spices with a little cinnamon and clove. Palate is smooth and textured but with a fine, firmish core of chalky tannins and fine-grained oak. Lick of precise acid to finish. An impressive wine.

The fourth vintage under Shaw & Smith control, this has such immediate appeal and attractive style it will be hard to see this wine making it to many cellars. The nose is super expressive with swirling spicy red cherries and boysenberry-scented pinot noir fruit. It's gently sappy, showing some herbal notes and toasty, spicy oak. The palate has intensity, depth and length; it's fleshy and supple through the middle, but the ever-so-slightly tart red-cherry flavors are mouth-wateringly fresh. The tannins are perfectly groomed, and the acidity is pitch-perfect. A great vintage: They have totally nailed it! Drink now.

Demonstrating the virtues of Tasmania for pinot noir, this stunning wine comes from a single site in the Coal River Valley. Notes of sour cherry and spices with a little cinnamon and clove. Palate is smooth and textured but with a fine, firmish core of chalky tannins and fine-grained oak. Lick of precise acid to finish. An impressive wine.

The fourth vintage under Shaw & Smith control, this has such immediate appeal and attractive style it will be hard to see this wine making it to many cellars. The nose is super expressive with swirling spicy red cherries and boysenberry-scented pinot noir fruit. It's gently sappy, showing some herbal notes and toasty, spicy oak. The palate has intensity, depth and length; it's fleshy and supple through the middle, but the ever-so-slightly tart red-cherry flavors are mouth-wateringly fresh. The tannins are perfectly groomed, and the acidity is pitch-perfect. A great vintage: They have totally nailed it! Drink now.

Bright, clear crimson; right up there with the best of the best from a great Tasmanian vintage. There is a purity to the red and black cherry/berry fruits that shines through the portals of the savoury/ spicy tannins. A luminous future will richly repay those who are patient.

From the famed Coal River Valley Tolpuddle vineyard outside Hobart, there’s an immediate “wow” to this, a wonderfully expressive mix of pinot personality, black cherry fruit feels, a supportive proportion of whole grape bunch influence, like biting into a softly ripe stem, that integrates with fine, spicy oak notes — an engaging attraction that then relinquishes to a desirable pinot purity, ethereal, seductive and utterly delicious.

This isn’t really a red for the barbie (unless you have a few wine-enthusiast friends around and are grilling butterflied quail) but it would grace any serious table. This is cutting-edge pinot noir from a great vineyard in the Coal River Valley. Aromas of cherry mingle with those of hedgerows and wisps of sandalwood smoke. The palate delivers lessons in length and elegance.

Stemmy, root-vegetable aromas from whole-bunch fermentation dominate; it needs more time. Intense and concentrated with a powerful palate endowed with great persistence. A stunning wine with a big future. From the Coal River Valley.