Wine
Assessing the Best in Tasmanian Sparkling – A Selector State of Play
An island state, Tasmania (Lutruwita) has always been a little removed from the action on the “mainland”. While modern life means we are more connected than ever, a journey over the Bass Strait still comes with a sense of adventure and discovery, especially when it comes to wine and food exploration.
Tasmania has a long history of growing grapes. The first experimental vines were planted in 1788, with commercial vineyards established for sparkling in 1823, and the first sparkling vintage in 1926. Gold proved a bigger drawcard, and the industry petered out in the 1870s during the Victorian Gold Rush. A mid-century wave of European immigrants heralded a new beginning, leading to today’s Tasmanian wine scene.
THE SPARKLING EFFECT
While Tassie produces exceptional still wines, especially Pinot Noir and Riesling, it’s the sparkling that drives global recognition. Though the island is a mosaic of seven unique winegrowing areas – Tamar Valley, Pipers River, East Coast, North West, Coal River Valley, Derwent Valley and Huon Valley – Tasmania is one official GI.
This makes sense, given that the 2025 vintage was the largest on record, yet made up just 1.2 per cent of Australia’s total crush. Cool-climate seasonality, diverse micro-climates, soils and slopes, and vintage variation create conditions that can swing from a gift to a challenge. As such, reserve wines are often only made in select years.
The cool climate at 43 degrees latitude is ideal for retaining acidity and freshness: two qualities essential for bubbles. Yet, Tassie’s Traditional Method sparkling speaks beyond terroir. There’s something about the notion of geographical isolation that encourages creativity, ingenuity and courage, and Tasmania’s winemakers leave a legacy of doing things a little bit differently.
The growth in Tassie’s sparkling success can be attributed to several major elements beyond the landscape. Firstly, the ticking clock: vineyards maturing, reserve wine programs developing, and knowledge of place deepening. Secondly, global sparkling wine consumption has increased, with palates shifting to freshness, aromatics and lower alcohol wines of delicacy rather than fruit and alcohol bombs. And thirdly, Tassie has maintained an unwavering focus on quality over quantity from the beginning.
To date, most vineyards are hand.picked and carefully maintained, with fruit fetching prices well above the Australian average. That’s not to mention the laborious and expensive process required in the production of Traditional Method wines.
Shane Holloway of Delamere scores a bracket of Tasmanian wine at the tasting.
Mid-swirl, the golden hues of a captivating Tassie sparkling shine in the glass.
POPPING THE CORK ON TASSIE SPARKLING
Few wine regions still boast founders actively shaping the industry, but Tasmania remains home to key figures defining its wine identity. With Sheralee Davies and Paul Smart of Wine Tasmania, Selector called for Tassie Sparkling submissions and 60 bottles were poured with help from hospitality students at TAFE Hobart.
Some of the state’s top sparkling winemaking talent took time away from the riddling racks, including Ed Carr (House of Arras), Steve Lubiana (Stefano Lubiana), Jeremy Dineen (Haddow + Dineen, ex-Josef Chromy), Tom Wallace (Brown Family Wine Group), Penny Jones (Tasmanian Vintners), and Shane Holloway (Delamere). Yours truly took the final place at the tasting table, as a new Tasmanian resident, though a long-time admirer.
Tasted blind, the opportunity to look at such an array of producers, vintages, blends and styles provided a brilliant overview of Tassie sparkling wine. Producers ranged from larger houses with a pedigree of sparkling production, through to smaller producers tucked off the radar. The wines showed confidence and clarity of house style, with consistency in quality across the board.
There were very few wines that did not reach Bronze or above, which speaks to the quality of grapes we are privileged to make sparkling wine with in Tasmania.
- Tom Wallace, Senior Winemaker and Winery Manager, Brown Brothers, Pirie, Devil's Corner
There were very few weak links, with minimal faults and taints. Wallace of Brown Brothers (Pirie, Tamar Ridge, Devils Corner) noted that different scoring processes produce different results, and “there were very few wines that did not reach Bronze or above, which speaks to the quality of grapes we are privileged to make sparkling wine with in Tasmania.”
While quality and consistency were on point, the line-up proved stylistic partiality plays a key role in determining the final result in the bottle. While the role of a judge is to look for quality above all else, stylistic preference enters the equation, especially when the judges are sparkling winemakers.
The late disgorged wines and Blanc de Blancs bracket in particular were favourites, and it is refreshing for the conversation amongst judges to include the role that personal preference plays. That’s the benefit of a panel tasting; each wine is tasted by multiple palates and given time for discussion post score.
Author Cassandra Charlick and House of Arras' Ed Carr assessing one of the tasting candidates.
TASMANIAN SPARKLING WINES AND THEIR STYLES
Sparkling wine provides an extra dimension when it comes to the interpretation of place. The vineyard obviously plays a key role, but there’s a multitude of style-led choices winemakers make on the journey from grape to glass.
Classifying a wine as NV (non-vintage), Vintage, Blanc de Blancs, Blanc de Noir, or Rosé offers consumers an understanding of what to expect in the bottle, but there’s a gamut of further influences on the taste and shape of a wine. Ageing vessels, the maturity of base wine, autolysis, cork, tirage and dosage impact the final wine.
The mix of top scorers shows that regardless of the bracket, quality, balance, tension, and expression are the markers that make a great Tassie sparkling. Ed Carr shares, “Over the past fifteen years, house styles have become much more evident as winemaking methods have matured and locked in. Production has become more specialised and focused, raising the quality of the pool of wines overall. This has resulted in a greater diversity of quality styles for the consumer.”
Judges also commented on a lessening reliance on dosage, possibly due to increasing reserve wine stock and the maturity of base wines. While it takes commitment and cost to maintain stock for extended ageing, Carr believes this is precisely the tipping factor for Tassie sparkling in gaining parity with global peers.
There is little doubt that “Tasmania” is the regional stamp to continue building a global presence for Tassie’s sparkling wine identity. The lineup included single vineyards, sub-regions and multi-region blends, but sub-regional identity is not a large part of the conversation at this point.
Wallace adds, “winemaking choices are having more influence than I can determine from regionality. Are you picking early or later? Are you using oak or secondary fermentation and then tirage? Methode sparkling has many influences.”
WHERE TO FROM HERE FOR TASMANIAN SPARKLING?
“The only way is up. Winemaking is diversifying, businesses and vineyards are maturing, markets are developing, and Tasmania has a stranglehold on the super-premium end of the premium sparkling sector,” shares Holloway, a grower/producer for almost fifteen years with Fran Austin at Delamare Vineyards.
With Arras hitting a 30-year milestone, it’s a reminder of how youthful the industry is and how far it has come in a short period of time. The future is ripe with possibilities, but with expanding vineyard plantings in recent years and an emerging export market, carefully maintained direction and preservation of quality are essential.
Carr puts it succinctly: “Tasmanian sparkling has a very bright future, if managed responsibly.”
TASMANIAN SPARKLING TASTING HIGHLIGHTS
The tasting offered an embarrasment of riches, to be certain. From an extensive list of wines submitted and tasted blind, the below wines are a representative sample of the quality that is the benchmark of Tasmanian sparkling. For a full list of the wines that won praise from the assembled panel, make sure to visit your nearest stockist – or, better still, subscribe, and never miss an issue! Also available digitally via PressReader and Magzter.
BANGOR VINEYARD LATE DISGORGED BLANC DE BLANC 2016
RRP $110
Fine-boned and elegant, an easy Top 5 wine. Creamy, toasty aromas, fresh and complex. Well-structured palate of citrus, grapefruit, apple, peach and seaspray. A delight.
GALA ESTATE VINTAGE SPARKLING ROSÉ
RRP $65
The top Rosé of the tasting, this stylish wine is flush with rich red berry and cherry aromas. Palate is bursting with layers of sweet/dry red fruits accompanied with a toasty, autolytic layers. Long and persistent.
HOUSE OF ARRAS GRAND VINTAGE 2016
RRP $125
Unsurprisingly in the Top 5. White peach, apple, citrus, spice, brioche and seaspray aromas flow to a long and dry palate stacked with salt licked stonefruits, fresh mushrooms and apples.
JANSZ TASMANIA PONTOS HILLS VINTAGE CUVÉE 2020
RRP $56
Incredible value. Saline and bright aromas with green apples over fine toast. Fresh, well-structured and long with green apples, oyster shells, white peach and bush herbs. A keeper.
STEFANO LUBIANA WINES PRESTIGE 2011
RRP $150
Proof of the longevity of Tassie sparkles. Rich, nutty aromas pass seamlessly to a complex, tight, vibrant and savoury palate of cherries, strawberries, seaspray, citrus and fresh pastry. A special wine.
LOWESTOFT GRAND RESERVE
2016 RRP $100
A fantastic wine from a powerhouse vintage. Aromatics are lifted and mature but freshened with saline/oyster shell over red apples and lemons, and a creamy, complex palate of lemon sherbet and red apples.
HOUSE OF ARRAS BRUT ELITE ROSÉ NV
RRP $68
Toasty, fresh and complex, this was another Rosé standout. The palate is fine and elegantly layered with wild strawberries, minerals and spice. Aromatics are complex, with red fruits, dried herbs and mushrooms. The finish is long and refined, Arras showing it knows its sparkling styles.
UPLANDS VINEYARD BLANC DE BLANCS 2018
RRP $75
A stylish, rich and powerful wine defined by green apples, lemons, toast, white peach and struck match aromas. The palate is dry, very long and layered with lightly spiced green and red apples, lemons and limes. A very accomplished sparkling.
DELAMERE VINEYARDS BLANC DE BLANCS 2017
RRP $70
Lavish and complex with powerful aromas: vanilla slice, red apples, lemon curd and yeast. Mouthfeel is rich and buttery with a fine, balanced mousse and layers of savoury, toasty fruits, citrus curd and lemon sherbet. Lovely.
PIRIE TASMANIA SPARKLING NV
RRP $35
Fresh and well balanced with bright Granny Smith, seaspray, toast and lemon sherbet aromas, the palate similarly energetic with pears, peaches, apples and cream that has a fine finish. Delicious.