Escape.

All aboard our flying machine

Where do you turn, after 35 years in the wine business, when handed an open book of opportunity?

Great vineyards are out there. So are the connections — we know a lot of people, and at the winemaker level, this business is as generous and welcoming as any you'll find.

Introducing UTOPIES — wines from viticultural utopias, made carefully, in small drops.

Some vineyards have a vibration. Hard to explain. Easy to taste. It shows up as charm, as character — the whole idea behind UTOPIES. We start with a sense of adventure. We don’t want to be tied down. Eyes wide open.

There isn't much wilderness left in wine. Tasmania seemed like a place to find some. Cold. Windy, some days. A little wild. Long shadows, long daylight, all the complexity that comes with that. Pinot Noir wants a little sun for its tannins. Not too much. Tasmania knows how to hold back.

Other ideas are floating around. A gorgeous Chardonnay, already on the way. A small parcel of Grenache, locked in for next vintage, from a tiny vineyard in the Grampians. A few mates who pop up along the way — the kind who show up with something brilliant more often than we can keep up with.

Small drops. A sense of fun. An easy escape from the everyday.

Dan Buckle
Winemaker

Welcome to Utopies

OUR PRESS RELEASE

Dan Buckle Launches UTOPIES With Tasmanian Pinot noir (2025) as First Release

Tasmania — Dan Buckle has launched UTOPIES, a new wine project led by his long-held passion for Pinot noir. The inaugural release is UTOPIES Tasmanian Pinot noir 2025, crafted in limited volumes of 411 bottles, drawn from two vineyards on diverse sites of Tasmania’s winegrowing landscape.

The 2025 release comes from a vineyard just south of Launceston in Evansdale, and a second site on the western side of the Tamar River. That Tamar-side property sparked growing interest in what Buckle describes as this more nuanced “left bank” terroir—where the soils are hungrier and more variable, and an easterly aspect contributes a slightly cooler growing influence.

Tasting Notes

UTOPIES Tasmanian Pinot noir 2025 presents plum and dark cherry fruit, alongside a sense of depth and intensity. The palate shows a plush, textural tannic structure, delivering a wine that is both concentrated and elegantly framed—an expression built around purity of fruit, fruit intensity, and tannin presence.

The project also marks a stylistic shift from Buckle’s prior work with Circe, where the focus leaned toward aromatics and whole-bunch complexity. With UTOPIES, Buckle is pursuing a Tasmanian expression where the latitude and sunshine help shape the balance of ripeness, concentration, and structural detail.

Buckle said the project is grounded in place and precision. “UTOPIES is about creating wines that feel both considered and alive—built around place, balance, and the quiet confidence of great fruit.”

Dan Buckle brings 35 years of winemaking excellence. His global experience spans wineries in Australia, France, Argentina, China and India. As head of the Chandon Australia winemaking and Viticulture teams, he spent 13 years (2012-25) leading their hugely popular sparkling wines. Prior to that, he was at Mount Langi Ghiran, where he spent 10 years helping reshape and modernise the winery, while continuing the legacy of Trevor Mast.

Buckle’s love for Pinot noir began through his father’s connections on the Mornington Peninsula, and he first tasted Pinot noir with the late Nat White from Main Ridge Estate. He has also had the privilege of tasting alongside James Halliday, sampling some of the finest Pinot noirs from Burgundy and beyond, experiences that continue to inform his approach.

UTOPIES marks a return to his origins with this first Pinot noir release .

Availability: Utopies is available exclusively through the Utopies website: www.utopies.com.au