The inaugural release of Chloé is an impeccably crafted, delightfully elegant, fragrant and citrus-infused vintage sparkling, and quite a bargain. The graceful line and white citrus purity of chardonnay meshes seamlessly with the pretty red cherries and rose petals of pinot noir. Two years on lees has built texture and seamlessness without diminishing primary purity. […]
The lively fruit profile and vibrant colour upheld in this non-vintage blend does not betray its considerable maturity (2008 base vintage), with wonderful notes of pink pepper, raspberry and red cherry. Its age builds a creamy structure, which unites seamlessly with a touch of old oak fermentation to create a finely textured mouth feel. The […]
An engaging interplay between the wonderfully tangy notes of morello cherries, wild strawberries and pink grapefruit and the gently silky, softening influence of a few years of yeast age. The result is seamlessly integrated, having attained that magical moment in its evolution where vivacity and grace find comfortable union. It has texture, persistence and wonderful […]
The Peter Lehmann grower network encapsulates some of the most impressive shiraz vineyards in the Barossa, exemplified as much in this sparkling shiraz as it is in the legendary still wines of this estate. Impressive, deep, brooding Barossa black fruits, dark chocolate, liquorice and spice are underlined by impeccably fine tannins, well-balanced dosage and a […]
You can taste the concentration, the deep-set texture and the inimitable flavour of ancient (half planted in 1919), dry-grown shiraz vines in this wine. Black fruits of all kinds, liquorice and olives linger with remarkable line and length, enveloped by firm, drying, mouth-encapsulating tannins, and yet never hard or overwhelming. The result is a sparkling […]
Jansz has re-released this remarkable vintage exclusively through their cellar door, for the same price as the current vintage. Thirteen years of age has built magnificent complex, with layers of grilled pineapple, dried peach, roast pine nuts and the subtle tertiary complexity of woodsmoke. In the midst of such a maelstrom it upholds definition and […]
A remarkable old Tumbarumba sparkling that astonished me when I first tasted it at the Australian Sparkling Wine Show two years ago, and remains every bit as impressive today. It’s surprising pale and bright at 13 years of age, and has attained a place where the buttery silkiness and roast nut character of bottle age […]
Achieving colour, depth and intensity while retaining finesse and softness in sparkling shiraz is no easy balancing act, and Hentley Farm has nailed it here. It’s at once luscious and deep in its black fruit and liquorice profile and at the same time creamy in its fine bead and silky in its fine-grained tannin structure, […]
Crafting elegant, long-aged vintage rosé is one of the higher skills of master sparkling craftsmanship, and René Bezemer has got it spot on it in this decade-old cuvée. With a pretty, very pale salmon hue, it’s a subtle expression of Tasmanian pinot noir, elegant and sophisticated, with a decade of maturity gently drawing spicy, secondary […]
After a full decade of maturity, including seven years on lees, Arras Grand Vintage has attained that wonderful place where the exotic, savoury, olive and smoky nuances of tertiary maturity meet the toasty, buttery smoothness of secondary development, while still upholding the primary citrus crunch of youthful chardonnay (a little more than two-thirds of the […]