House of Arras, Grand Vintage, Tasmania

Tasmania wine tour day two (Tasmania) : brioche, savoury, a little bacon note, a touch of red fruit, honey. Juicy, mouthwatering whilst being tart, textured grip is powdering, savoury notes and slight honey on the finish. Interesting.

Wineries Tamar & Vic Jan 25; 1/13/2025-1/20/2025 (Tamar, Glenrowan) : {cork, A$125} 65/35 chardonnay /pinot. Smoke and dust and fleshy yellow fruit. A little bread, but there’s not an obviously yeasty character, despite all the years on lees. Medium weight, with small, creamily delicate bubbles. Quite youthful palate, with juicy, fleshy rockmelon and mango-tinged flavours. Still bone-dry, with just 2g/l of sugar. Medium/long finish. Some cellaring time will help this now I reckon – it’s still tasting very young. Derwent, …

Bread dough and stewed apple. Very good and mature, a lot of pleasure.

Cork, 12.5% alc. Mid gold with a reddish hue. Soft mousse dissipates quickly. Bread, lemon, peach, honey, grilled nuts, and tobacco on the nose. Beautifully balanced; pitch perfect soft acidity. Perhaps a bit light fruited (only medium bodied at best) and rather delicate. Persistent length. Did this see some oak? Opinion: Very classy Aussie alternative to Champagne, punching well above its price point. No signs of decline. Held up well after 3 days open; as a still wine, obviously. No …

Still a very good wine. This one had nutty lees character, just a hint of aldehyde but lots of preserved lemon, and good structure. Long clean finish. Very drinkable. Good to see Aussie sparkling going the distance of 14 years, not many could.

Lovely. Has lasted longer than my marriages! Nice acid backbone, full of lemon and brioche, and still has quite a few years left.

In die Richtung Bollinger, aber mit mehr Musseux

Cork. Pale clear yellow. Brioche, quince, marzipan. Stewed apples and a yeasty/dusty nose. Lemon, bread/toast. Good length but not a great deal of fruit left. Mouth watering acidity. Good balance and very fine bead. Opinion: In a good place, no need to age longer. In fact, better to drink up over next couple of years as it may already be on the downward slope. Good VFM.

Blind Pinot Tasting : Toast and lemon, with some truffle. Quite powerful palate, probably more muscular/brutish than the 2004 that I also like but in a different style. Good length as well. Should develop nicely.

Tasmania Wineries Jan-12 (2) - Tamar Valley; 1/15/2012-1/19/2012 (Tasmania) : {A$75} Seven years on lees produces a developing nose of earth, mushrooms and yeast. There are bread and melon flavours carried by a mass of the finest bubbles, culminating in a long, dry finish with great persistence and class. A match for all but the best champagnes, this really works and is a great advert for Tasmanian sparkling wine.

Por5nos

Bay of Fires and House of Arras Tasting (Prince Wine Store - Bank Street) : Big berry fruits, brioche, lemon and honey with big rich citrus coming through the palette of powdery fizz. A nice soft finish.

Yeasty nose, with aromas of bread. Some development here, and seems very chardonnay-driven. The palate has quite aggressive bubbles, but they remain persistent. Promising biscuit & bread flavours. The palate isn’t young, but there’s plenty of room for development. Medium-full body. Needs time to calm down a bit.

The best Australian sparkling in my opinion. Not too sweet, not too dry, not too yeasty. Bubbles are light and uplifting. Tops off with a crisp but smooth finish.

Bready, creamy, salty. Razor sharp.