Vintage Brut
Conceived as a snap-shot of Tasmania, the Vintage Brut is blended from select, small parcels of grapes from vineyards, tended by sustainability-minded growers, across Tasmania, to express the multiplicity of Tasmania’s terroirs and the character of the year. Blending this wine is about respecting the character of the vintage, preserving it’s individual, complex identity. The opposite of blending for conformity or to enforce a house style on the fruit that the vineyards have given us. Working within a Chardonnay dominant matrix, the Vintage Brut usually consists of 70% Chardonnay and 30% Pinot Noir or Pinot Noir/ Pinot Meurnier.
Once bottled, the wines spend a minimum of six years on yeast lees and are then further aged under cork (for anything from six months up to two years) before release. Vintages are released when we judge them to be ready to drink. The wines are made to retain their freshness, so they can of course be cellared further if you wish, but you do not have to. Each release is limited to 2500 individually numbered bottles plus magnums (from 2018). The small numbers allow us to exercise strict control over the winemaking whilst individual bottle numbering means you are assured of provenance.
Traditional Method
2012
Varietal composition: 70% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir
Multi-regional blend (Tasman Peninsula, Coal River Valley, Tamar Valley)
Technical notes: Almost seven years on yeast lees (disgorged 28 January 2019) with a further two years under cork prior to initial release. Light dosage of 2.5 g/L, 12.8% alcohol v/v, TA 7.3 g/L, pH 2.97, partial MLF.
Exceedingly rare, 1400 bottles in total.
Tasting notes: "As fresh as a Spring morning,.. so pretty & delicate on the nose with fresh lemon, raw pastry dough, green apple & white peach blossom... The delicacy continues with minuscule bubbles dancing on the tongue & those springy/autumnal morning notes are joined by ground almonds, a clean salinity & a hint of caramelised pecans, vanilla, peaches, lemon posset & mouthwatering acidity. If you’re looking for a big, bold & rich sparkling, this ain’t it! This is as fine as a dewy, gossamer web on a hedge twinkling away as the sun rises & the new day brings its potential. This can age for years if you want to see those nutty flavours work their way to the fore but if you like things fresh, light, delicate & precise, don’t dilly dally, today is your day.." Curly Haslam-Coates The Wine Front
Vintage note: A warm, mild year with good fruit set, perfect ripening conditions and low disease pressure. A truly hands-off year and real pleasure for winemakers because all that needed to be said had already happened in the vineyard.
Awards & media
Gold Medal, Late Disgorged Vintage Sparkling Wine Class, 2021 Tasmanian Wine Show
96 points The Real Review Apr 2022
96 points Huon Hooke Sept 2021
95 points The Wine Front April 2021
Traditional method
2011
Varietal composition: 70% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir
Multi-regional blend (Coal River Valley, Tasman Peninsula, NE Tasmania, Pipers River)
Technical notes: Six years on yeast lees (disgorged 11 August 2017), 4.5 g/L dosage, 11.9% alcohol v/v, TA 8.52 g/L, pH 3.16, partial MLF.
Tasting notes: Striking pale colour. Notably elegant, harmonious & fresh with white florals, citrus zest & long, dry savoury mineral finish. Roasted hazlenut & brioche characters becoming evident with age.
Vintage note: A cold year bringing the challenge of low temperatures throughout the season, plus wind & rain at flowering & harvest. The cold fortunately kept disease in the vineyard at bay. Chardonnay’s & Chardonnay dominant wines from 2011 rewarded patience, transforming from steely to elegant.
Awards & media
94 points Halliday 2019 Wine Companion
96 points The Wine Front Aug 2020
"even after six years on yeast lees and two years on cork, this outstanding sparkling wine is pale, pure and pristine: two-thirds chardonnay, one-third pinot noir, lemony, bright, chalky and long. Delicious." Max Allen
Traditional Method
2010
Varietal composition: 70% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir
Multi-regional blend (Derwent Valley, Tasman Peninsula, NE Tasmania, Pipers River)
Technical notes: Seven years on yeast lees (disgorged 25 Aug 2017), 5.3 g/L dosage, 12.9% alcohol v/v, TA 7.35 g/L, pH 3.14, partial MLF
Tasting notes: An aperitif/ food friendly style with great intensity. Fine active bead & star-bright, yellow-golden colour. Vibrant lemon citrus, white florals, nougat, brioche, roasted nuts & lingering dry minerality.
Vintage note: A wet winter broke a 10+ year drought. The seemingly never-ending summer gave way to a long warm autumn which saw high yields of perfect fruit, with ripe flavours & aromas developing earlier than usual giving a powerful wine at 12.9% alcohol.
Awards & media
Silver medal: Late Disgorged Sparkling 2018 Tasmanian Wine Show
Gold Medal: Late Disgorged Sparkling 2019 Tasmanian Wine Show
Trophy: Best Late Disgorged Sparkling 2019 Tasmanian Wine Show
Trophy: Champion Wine of Show 2019 Tasmanian Wine Show
Extremely limited. Available as single bottle in six pack of 2011 Vintage Brut only (or contact us for a personal selection)
Blanc de Blanc
Literally white of white. A white wine made from a white grape variety. The singular is quite deliberate. These are wines that showcase a single variety. The current 2014 wines celebrate Chardonnay.
Traditional Method
2014 Blanc de Blanc
The fruit is from a single vineyard, Made purely from cuvee (no pressings). The juice was fermented in French oak barrels (puncheons and barriques) with a combination of wild yeast (indigenous yeast from the grape skins) and inoculated yeast strains and MLF was blocked (with low temperatures).
At completion of primary fermentation, wines received light lees stirring before being racked off gross lees.
Disgorged a single riddling cage at a time, each release is limited to fewer than 500 bottles. The accolades the current release has already garnered include being awarded 94 points by The Wine Front, a silver medal at the 2021 Tasmanian Wine Show and 95 points by Gourmet Traveller Wine.
Varietal composition: 100 % Chardonnay. Single vineyard (Stringybark Tamar valley, N Tasmania)
Technical notes: Six years on yeast lees, 2 g/L dosage. pH 3.03, TA 8.3, alcohol 11.83% v/v. Disgorged October 2020. 477 Bottles in this release.
Tasting notes: Stunningly fresh, complex and elegant. The time of lees contributes aromas of fresh sourdough bread, roasted hazelnut & toast. The dominant thrust on the nose is honey suckle & apple blossom with fresh hay/wild meadow herbs, & crisp white stone fruit. The palate is refined but rich with a core of bright acidity, toast, fresh apricots & nectarine leading in to a long, satisfying, savoury, mineral/ saline finish. That is balanced by a creamy mid-palate & soft texture. Recommend drinking anytime over the next decade.
Vintage note: Squally, cool, wet & windy conditions around flowering & fruit set dramatically reduced yields, particularly in Pinot Noir. Berry size (particularly in Pinot Noir) was below average but overall fruit quality was superb.
Serve at 8-10 oC .
95 points Gourmet Traveler Wine April/May 2021.
94 points The Wine Front Dec 2020.
Silver Medal Vintage Sparkling Class, 2021 Tasmanian Wine Show.
Traditional method
2014 Triple Wild Blanc de Blanc
Proving that sometimes it is the simple things that are the hardest. These are single vineyard wines that put the traditional back into traditional method. Envisaged as a pure expression of the vineyard, the fermentations are completely spontaneous. That is the primary ferment is conducted in oak barrels by the yeast living on the grape skins. These indigenous or wild yeasts then perform the second ferment (tirage) in the bottle and malolactic fermentation (MLF) also proceeds naturally within the bottle. The winemaking is both low-intervention & instensively monitored. Risk & excitement balanced with obsessive care.
Varietal composition: 100% Chardonnay
Single vineyard (Stringybark, N Tasmania)
Technical notes: Four years on yeast lees (disgorged December 2018), 2 g/L dosage, 12.1% alcohol v/v, TA 6.87 g/L, pH 3.41, complete MLF, only 200 bottles made. Released in July 2019.
Vegan friendly
Tasting notes: Straw-green. Vinous, complex, intense nose with notes of orange blossom, acacia, nougat and dried grass. The fine acid line, zest and top notes balance the creamy mouthfeel. Remarkably fresh, even ethereal, on the palate, flavours of bread, baked apple, hay, and nougat give way to a lingering savoury finish.
Vintage note: Squally, cool, wet and windy conditions around flowering and fruit set dramatically reduced yields, particularly in Pinot Noir.
Awards & media
93 points Halliday 2020 Wine Companion
"deliciously candied, toasty, umami-packed 2014 fizz (wild primary ferment in barrel, wild secondary ferment, wild malolactic in bottle – almost unheard-of in sparkling wine circles)" Max Allen
"It’s extremely unusual to find a sparkling wine that has undergone wild primary, secondary and malolactic fermentation, and in extremely limited production: just 200 bottles made. Extremely good, too: candied lemon peel chardonnay fruit flavours, textural and rich, then bone-dry, almost Vegemite-yeasty intensity to the finish" Max Allen.
Brut Rosé
There are so many ways of making pink wines & consequently, numerous styles of rosé. While the techniques used to arrive at the final wine may evolve over time & with vintage the aim is always to reflect the fruit. Similarly the composition of the wines may change depending on the balance between Chardonnay, Pinot Noir & Pinot Meunier produced/sourced each year.
The 2013 Brut Rosé is a 50:50 blend of Chardonnay & Pinot Noir. With only an old crank basket-press available - it took 12 hours to process the whole-bunch Chardonnay. Using that basket press allowed a very precise determination of each press fraction & exactly when to stop pressing. We believe that precision is worth the effort. Deliberately low-tech, the juice literally went straight from the press by bucket into old oak barrels to undergo spontaneous fermentation (wild ferment). The colour of this wines is entirely due to the time (24 h) the crushed and destemmed Pinot Noir spent on skins.
Traditional method
2013
Varietal composition: 50% Chardonnay, 50% Pinot Noir. Single vineyard (White Rock).
Technical notes: Six years on yeast lees (disgorged June 2019), 7.5 g/L dosage, 13.4% alcohol v/v, TA 7.66 g/L, pH 3.15, no MLF or reserve wines. Released in November 2019.
Vegan friendly
Tasting notes: Delicate pale blush. Complex nose of fresh red fruits (raspberrys, cranberries, strawberrys, pomegranate), hints of blackcurrant/ rhubarb, crunchy red apple with white peach top notes from Chardonnay. Savoury undertones and acid line compliment a creamy, textural mouthfeel to give a refined balanced palate and lingering finish.
Awards & media
"Pale salmon-pink; the white peach of the chardonnay and wild strawberry of the pinot are joined in vinous holy matrimony. Such dosage as there was is hidden in the satin of the fruit. Lovely wine."
96 points James Halliday 2021 Wine Companion
"This wonderful sparkling rosé ... Like the Vintage Brut, it’s pure and precise, but it also has subtle creamy texture and a lovely rose-hip tang thanks to the wild primary fermentation in older barrels" Max Allen
