Vintage Brut
Our work-horse. Currently our only blended wine and our only wine with significant vinification in stainless steel. Working within our favourite Chardonnay dominant matrix (usually in the order of 70%), we select parcels of fruit from vineyards across Tasmania to express the multiplicity of Tasmania’s terroirs and the character of the year. For us blending 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.
These wines spend a minimum of six years on lees and are then further aged under cork (ideally for two years) before release. We disgorge the vintages when we think that they are ready and put them on the market when we judge that they are ready to drink. Because the wines are made to retain their freshness you can of course cellar them further but you do not have to. Each release is limited to 2500 individually numbered bottles plus magnums (from 2018). The relatively small numbers allows us to exercise strict control over the winemaking and our customers to be assured of provenance.
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
Silver medal: Late Disgorged Sparkling 2018 Tasmanian Wine Show
Gold Medal: Late Disgorged Sparkling 2019 Tasmanian Wine Show
Trophy: Late Disgorged Sparkling 2019 Tasmanian Wine Show
Trophy: Champion Wine of Show 2019 Tasmanian Wine Show
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 nut character appearing 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
Bronze medal: Late Disgorged Sparkling 2019 Tasmanian Wine Show
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. If that all sounds rather risky, yes it is. Not for the nervous or faint-hearted, it's an exciting way to make sparkling wine. The results are really special so all the extra/obsessive care is definitely worthwhile.
Traditional method
2014
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.
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.
Brut Rosé
A labour of loves. We adore rosé - the discipline is to limit ourselves to just one. Single vineyard wines, the composition changes depending on how much Chardannay vs Pinot we can wheedle. The first time we made this we only had an old crank basket-press at our disposal - it took us (plus assistance from Mick, thank you Mick!) 12 hours to process the wholebunch Chardonnay. Using that basket press allowed us to determine exactly when we wanted to stop pressing - we think this precise control is worth the effort and we love basket presses. Deliberately low-tech, the juice literally goes straight from the press by bucket into old oak barrels to undergo spontaneous fermentation (wild ferment). We don't use reserve wines - we don't have to. The colour of these wines are determined by the time the Pinot Noir (crushed and destemmed) spends 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. Released in November 2019.
Tasting notes: Delicate pale blush. Complex nose of fresh red fruits (raspberrys, strawberrys, cherries), hints of blackcurrant/ rhubarb, crunchy red apple with citrus top notes from Chardonnay. Savoury undertones and acid line compliment a creamy, textural mouthfeel to give a refined balanced palate and lingering finish.