Champagne, Tasmania, Pinot noi...
Champagne
The chalky soils of Champagne combined with its frigid growing environment create wines that are electric and salivating. But it’s the creation of bubbles that makes these wines stand out.
The bubbles are formed during a secondary fermentation in bottle, known as Méthode Traditionelle. The longer they age, the more nougat and brioche flavours develop and the finer the bead (bubble) becomes.
In terms of who invented Champagne, the English make a strong case as they worked out the formula for purposely making the fizz happen and their stronger coal-fired glass bottles - resulting from the Industrial Revolution - could hold the pressure. Whereas the French were still bottling in wood-fired glass which wasn’t strong enough and they hadn’t cracked the technique of creating bubbles on purpose.
Grapes
White: Chardonnay
Red: Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier
Styles
Nowhere in the world can emulate the fineness and electric detail of these wines. Non-vintage Champagnes should be enjoyed earlier in their lives, while vintage wines have more structure and can age beautifully. House styles differ too. Blanc des Blancs (100% Chardonnay) offer a more elegant and fragile expression while Blanc des Noirs (100% Pinot and or Meunier) are darker fruited with more obvious structure and power.
Favourite Producers
Pierre Peters, Louis Roederer, Vilmart, Andre Clouet, Taittinger, Larmandier, Egly-Ouriet, Jacques Selosse
-
Holm Oak Protege Pinot Noir 2024like this style of pinot. Built for drinkin' not thinkin' and one which will take a chill in the fridge should the mercury dictate such an action. Red apple, redcurrant, raspberry and red cherry with an expression of orange peel oil, just like you see in those fancy cocktail bars. Some nice spice, dried herbs, lily and leaf litter, too, finishing spacious and in an sapid, easy-drinking style. DAVE BROOKES, Halliday Wine Companion
Bright cherry red in the glass. Pretty aromas of cherry, strawberries and cream confectionery, sweet spice and dried flowers. Soft, juicy, round and easy drinking. There's plenty of jubey red fruits, along with lively acidity and firm, textured tannins. Straightforward, enjoyable drinking. AARON BRASHER, The Real Review2024Pinot noirAustralia490$25.00 As low as $22.50 -
Stoney Rise Pinot Noir 2023More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2023Pinot noirAustralia490$35.00 As low as $31.50 -
Delamere Sparkling Cuvee NVDelamere Vineyards were planted in 1982 in the Pipers River region in northeast Tasmania making it one of the oldest plantings not only in the region but in Tasmania. They have 6.5ha under vine and its age makes it a rare resource in Tasmania. The ironstone rich soils are perfectly suited to the cultivars of pinot noir and chardonnay, and was established in the traditional French design used in Burgundy and Champagne.
The low yield per vine and the reflective heat from the ground produces wines with superior depth of flavour and ripe well-developed tannins. Vine age and subsequent natural balance are key factors in the consistent production of wines with great structure and harmony.
Perfumed and pretty on the nose but then racy on the palate. It feels like a low-dosage style. Strawberries, lime blossom, grapefruit and lemon rind. It all sizzles out through the finish, with length to burn. CAMPBELL MATTINSON, the winefrontNVchardonnay, Pinot noirAustralia490$40.00 As low as $36.00 -
Two Tonne TMV Pinot Noir 2024Fragrant notes of spiced cherry and rose mix with rosemary and mulch on the nose. A mass of sweet spices and black cherries are tempered by earthy flavours. The palate is alive and inviting, cheek puckering tannins add dimension. A raspy spine of bitter chocolate phenolics anchors the wine, tapering out on the finish. This is a bone-crushingly delicious pinot that's high on affordability. GABRIELLE POY2024Pinot noirAustralia490$40.00 As low as $36.00 -
Two Tonne EST Pinot Noir 2024From the volcanic soils on the Freycinet coast in the east, this is laden with spices and wafts of red and black cherries. The purity of the fruit is off the charts, it's vibrant and alive with a tempting minerally sizzle pulsating through the core. A fine boned beauty from the east coast. GABRIELLE POY2024Pinot noirAustralia490$40.00 As low as $36.00 -
Dr Edge Tyrannosaurus Dredge 2024More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2019Pinot noirAustralia490$41.00 As low as $36.90 -
Freycinet Louis Pinot Noir 2023This is an excellent pinot noir to drink. It's complex, it's lively, it has a bit of depth to it, and it feels real. It tastes of toast and cherry plum, sweet spice and undergrowth, mint and something more earthen, almost like terracotta. Tannin curls through the juiciness of the fruit, an d the finish has very good extension. A tick in every box. No hesitation in recommending this. GARY WALSH2023Pinot noirAustralia490$45.00 As low as $40.50 -
Freycinet Louis Pinot Noir 2024More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2024Pinot noirAustralia490$45.00 As low as $40.50 -
Dr Edge Pinot Noir 2024Cherry, raspberry, nice and aromatic, with a dried flower perfume, plus a little sap and spice, and an undercurrent of something a bit earthy or clay-like. It’s medium-bodied, again the violet and rose perfume amongst juicy cherry and blue fruit, toasted hazelnuts, a light dusty grain and grip to tannin, cranberry acidity, a little blood orange tang, with a bright finish of excellent length. Delightful wine. Lovely energy and sense of purity here. GARY WALSH, The Wine Front2024Pinot noirAustralia490 -
Domaine Simha Field Blend Rouge 2024More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2024Pinot noir, shirazAustralia490$55.00 As low as $49.50 -
Domaine Simha Nature Pinot Noir 2024More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2018Pinot noirAustralia490$57.00 As low as $51.30 -
Lowestoft Estate Pinot Noir 2021GOLD - ROYAL HOBART WINE SHOW 2022
GOLD - ROYAL HOBART WINE SHOW 2023
GOLD - ROYAL ADELAIDE WINE SHOW 2022
GOLD - ROYAL ADELAIDE WINE SHOW 2023
GOLD - ROYAL QUEENSLAND WINE SHOW 2023
Very good colour, quite deep and retains a good tint of purple in the rim. Wood-spice and a hint of Campari to sniff; the palate full and intense, loaded with tannins which add grip and persistence. Long, long carry. A rich, powerful, decadent pinot which is offering much right now but also promises a bright future. This wine punches above its weight (96) HUON HOOKELower Derwent sourced fruit, essentially from the outer suburbs of Hobart, planted nigh on 40 years ago. Dense plantings. Lots of layers here. Bracken, shiitake dashi, darker cherry and freshly grown moss, spruce and other forestry allusions. Dense, pliant and convincing, this is excellent mid-weighted Tassie pinot. (95) JAMES SUCKLING
A bright, complex pinot noir... Pure red and dark cherry, raspberry and wild strawberry fruits with hints of Chinese barbecue shop, five-spice, teacake, mushroom, purple floral and subtle leaf litter tones. There is a nice sense of space and clarity in this wine, fine acidity providing the pulse and a sustained red-fruited finish studded with game, amaro and spice. (95) JAMES HALLIDAY'S WINE COMPANION
2021Pinot noirAustralia490 -
Holyman Pinot Noir 2023More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2023Pinot noirAustralia490$61.00 As low as $54.90 -
Ghost Rock Estate Climat Pinot Noir 2023There are seven single vineyards of Ghost Rock, per se, this is one of them, and it gets made each year. Wild ferment, no additions, no filtering and no fining, a touch of sulphur for preserving. Organic farmed.
It’s got softness and spread, a suppleness and flow, dark cherry, earthiness, sappy botanical elements, a touch of game meat and woody-savoury elements. It’s so pure and yet rich, a generosity in its layers of flavour, aroma, texture. It’s got a faint core of crushed rock minerality too. A wild streak, perhaps, lending charm and personality. I love this. Drinkability and complexity, with purity, hand-in-hand. MIKE BENNIE, The Wine Front
2023Pinot noirAustralia490$62.00 As low as $55.80 -
Sailor Seeks Horse Pinot Noir 2023More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2023Pinot noirAustralia490$78.00 As low as $70.20 -
Freycinet Pinot Noir 2021More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2021Pinot noirAustralia490$83.00 As low as $74.70 -
Dawson James Pinot Noir 2020The 2020 Pinot Noir is sourced from the Meadowbank vineyard, in the Upper Derwent Valley, in Tasmania. The vineyard site experiences warm days and cool nights, largely unaffected by sea breeze, imbuing the wines with a depth and density of flavor that is bolstered by the spine of juicy acidity (courtesy of the cool night-time temperatures). The wine itself is savory, littered with autumnal undergrowth, enoki mushroom, black cherries and tobacco leaf. The palate is more succulent than the nose would lead us to believe, and it is rich with umami inflections of bone broth and quince paste. Very good, serious, grown-up Pinot Noir, from two very accomplished makers (Pete Dawson and Tim James). (95+) ERIN LARKIN, Wine Advocate
Sourced from a portion of the Meadowbank vineyard curated to the particular specifications of winemakers Peter Dawson and Tim James, whose unobtrusive winemaking ensures real purity of fruit. Rose petal, dusty red earth and red fruit aromas leap from the glass. The silky, seductive palate is all strawberries and cream, framed by gently gripping tannins. (96) DECANTER
2020Pinot noirAustralia490$86.00 As low as $77.40 -
Holyman Project X Pinot Noir 2021More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2021Pinot noirAustralia490$94.00 As low as $84.60 -
Chatto Intrigue Pinot Noir 2023Intrigue. What a good name for a Pinot Noir. Anyway, Jim Chatto is a very good fellow, and very giving of his outstanding knowledge of wine, and he’d know so much more than me, generally, maybe aside Piedmont.
This has a lot more flavour and pop than the Isle, lots of cherry and almond, and spicy things, and quite some richness of fruit. I like the sooty tannin, and the cherry-almond laced flavour that it offers, there’s cherry pip and some ‘mineral’ acidity to it, blonde tobacco too, and it’s a wine that presents with some lush flavour, with a gentle sappiness to close. Here be flavour and good Pinot things, and I really like this wine. It has some oomph and carriage that the Isle maybe lacks. I like this wine for its juiciness and flavour. It’s very good GARRY WALSH, The Wine Front.
2023Pinot noirAustralia490$97.00 As low as $87.30 -
Dosnon Blanc de Noirs NVThe NV Brut Blanc de Noirs Récolte Noire is a touch more elegant than the Récolte Brute, with layers of perfumed Pinot fruit that emerge gracefully from its medium-bodied fame. This delicious Champagne possesses lovely balance in an understated style. ANTONIO GALLONINVPinot noirFrance376$100.00 As low as $90.00 -
Clarence House Reserve Pinot Noir 2023 1500mlMore product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2023Pinot noirAustralia490$110.00 As low as $99.00 -
Lowestoft Woodlands Pinot Noir 2021More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2021Pinot noirAustralia490$110.00 As low as $99.00 -
Andre Clouet Rose No.3 NVClouet's rose epitomises elegance and focus, while flamboyantly celebrating the generous red cherry, strawberry, watermelon and pink pepper fruit of Bouzy. It encapsulates that wonderful talent of pinot noir to build and rise on the finish, all the while retaining graceful precision as delicate as rose petal perfume. Structure is fine and elegant, driven both by chalk minerality of the village and a very finely executed tannin presence. It finishes with great length and poise of exquisite red cherry fruit. A pristine and enticingly priced rose. Older disgorgements have taken on savoury suggestions of tamarillo, while upholding their primary integrity. TYSON STELZER
The NV Brut Rosé No 3 Grand Cru is a pure Bouzy Pinot Noir that gets its beautiful intense onion-skin color from the addition of 8% red wine. The nose is rich and complex but at the same time pure and refined, with a nice chalky layer and vinous fruit intensity. Round and rich but fresh and vital on the pure and elegant palate, this is a full-bodied, pretty intense and persistent rosé to be served with main courses. This rosé is seriously complex and expressive, with grip, tension and a long finish. Remarkable in class and style. STEPHAN REINHARDT, Wine Advocate
(made from 100% Grand Cru Bouzy pinot noir, with 8% still wine): Vivid orange-pink. Aromas and flavors of ripe red berries, candied rose and toasty lees. Fleshy but nervy and focused, with strong mineral cut and hints of bitter herbs on the very long, energetic finish. Smoothly blends richness and vivacity, making it extremely flexible with food or without. JOSH RAYNOLDSNVPinot noirFrance376$125.00 As low as $112.50 -
Bruno Paillard Brut Premiere Cuvee NVPinot noir leads this accurate, well-crafted aperitif style of elegant finesse and persistence. A primary red cherry, wild strawberry and lemon fruit focus is underlined by taut acidity and expressive chalk mineral depth. Nuances of honey, anise and ginger are building as it gains maturity. It's clean and taut, a low dosage keeping the finish fresh and lively. TYSON STELZERNVchardonnay, Pinot Meunier, Pinot noirFrance376$140.00 As low as $126.00 -
Dosnon Blanc de Noirs NV 1500mlMore product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
NVPinot noirFrance376$200.00 As low as $180.00 -
Taste of Tassie 2021 Super Six PackTasmania has become such a hot-bed of awesome talent and great wine. As one of Australia's coolest wine growing regions pinot noir and chardonnay have excelled and sparkling wine still proves to be one of its crown jewels. These have been mainstays of the Apple Isle for some time and there looks this to be no stopping the tide of incredible examples of each making their way across the Tasman.
Fast-forward a generation and we are really starting to see what the verdant land can really turn out. In our mind some of the best Euro-styled rieslings are being produced there while the marginal climates and savvy wine-making are turning out some stellar textural pinot gris.
While pinot noir may reign supreme it is other reds like shiraz, that may, in time, prove to be something even more special. Time will tell and while it does we will happily sip our way through all that Tasmania's has to offer.
$209.00 Regular Price $248.00 -
April Premium 6-pack 2021 - Taste of TassieTasmania has become such a hot-bed of awesome talent and great wine. As one of Australia's coolest wine growing regions pinot noir and chardonnay have excelled and sparkling wine still proves to be one of its crown jewels. These have been mainstays of the Apple Isle for some time and there looks this to be no stopping the tide of incredible examples of each making their way across the Tasman.
Fast-forward a generation and we are really starting to see what the verdant land can really turn out. In our mind some of the best Euro-styled rieslings are being produced there while the marginal climates and savvy wine-making are turning out some stellar textural pinot gris.
While pinot noir may reign supreme it is other reds like shiraz, that may, in time, prove to be something even more special. Time will tell and while it does we will happily sip our way through all that Tasmania's has to offer.
We start with the NV Delamere sparkling a blend of chard and pinot noir that represents not just some of the oldest plantings in the region but in Tasmania. This is always plays with great harmony structure it gets from the ferrous soils of the region. Textured and fine.
Stefano Lubiano have been making some waves recently with a fantastic set of releases. Their Primavera chard well and over-delivers for the money and we wonder how they can do it at the price they do. Fine and focused but with plenty of palate impact.
Young gun Ricky Evans is making a splash with his modern styled, clean and classic wines. While no doubt his pinots are highly regarded the latest release riesling is an absolute belter. Racy and fresh but with plenty of lush fruit to back it up.
We have two pinot's for the pack and why not? The first is Sailor Seeks horse from Tassies southern most municipality. This revitalised vineyard has been taken to new heights by Gilli and Paul Lipsombe. The second is a relatively newcomer Luna and is right north in the Tamar Valley and another single vineyard wine. Plush and full of energy a svoury finish - you decide which one you like best.
Last off is the Glaetzer-Dixon Mon Pere Shiraz. The 2010, to many people surprise took the coveted Jimmy Watson trophy and the following vintages have proven this was not a flash-in-the-pan. The 2017 is a stellar effort with plum and rip blackberry fruit off-set by a lush, structured palate. Fantastic stuff.
NV$229.00 Regular Price $295.00 -
Vouette et Sorbee Blanc dArgile Brut Nature R18(R18, disgorged Nov 2020. Magnums R19, disgorged Dec 2021). Within the cold, west-facing, Kimmeridgian limestone-rich lieu-dit of Biaunes, there is a small plot of Chardonnay that Gautherot planted wild: without preparing the soils and amongst the native vegetation (a totally crazy idea). The Côte des Bar is overwhelmingly planted to Pinot Noir, but in 2000 Gautherot chose Chardonnay. He used massale cuttings from Anselme Selosse’s vines (in Avize) and Vincent Dauvissat’s Valmur Grand Cru vineyard. This plot has become the base of what Antonio Galloni calls “one of the most beautiful and distinctive wines in Champagne.”
The vines here yield only 15 to 20 hl/ha each year—one of the keys to the intensity on offer. The 2018 and 2019 wines also took in some Chardonnay from Fonnet (from 2020, upcoming vintages will also take in Chardonnay from the Vouette vineyard, which was previously planted to Pinot Noir but was replanted to Chardonnay a number of years ago).
Fermentation for this wine was wild and took place in used 500- and 600-litre barrels, with a small portion of fruit fermented and raised in Georgian amphora (see Textures). As with the Fidèle, this wine spent roughly 15 to 18 months in bottle on lees, before being disgorged by hand with zero dosage.
2015Pinot noirFrance376$245.00 As low as $220.50 -
Vilmart Coeur de Cuvee 201580% Chardonnay, 20% Pinot Noir from vines averaging 60 years old, the wine spends nearly 6 years on lees. Most importantly only the heart of the pressing is taken - 1400 litres instead of the usual 2100 litres, hence the name 'coeur de cuvee.'
The 2015 Brut Coeur de Cuvée is a pretty dense wine that belies its deceptively mid-weight structure. What surprises me most about the 2015 is how closed it is. In most years, especially warm years, Coeur de Cuvée is quite a bit more open and voluptuous, but the 2015 does not come across like that at all. Rather, it is super-classic in bearing, with tons of gravitas from the 60-year-old vines just waiting to emerge. There are none of the awkward herbal notes that penalize so many wines. Bright saline notes extend the finish effortlessly. The 2015 is a brilliant Coeur de Cuvée. ANTONIO GALLONI
2015chardonnay, Pinot noirFrance376$325.00 As low as $292.50 -
Vilmart Coeur de Cuvee 2016The 2016 Brut Coeur de Cuvée is an elegant, sensual Champagne. In other words, classic Vilmart. Crushed flowers, mint, chalk, slate, dried herbs and citrus peel are all beautifully delineated. Brisk acids wrap it all together in style. The 2016 needs a few years to be at its most expressive, as it is pretty reserved today. Even so, all the elements are impeccably put together. The barrels used here are one to three years old. Dosage is 7 grams per liter. Disgorged: September, 2022. (94+) ANTONIO GALLONI, Vinous
Notes of honeysuckle and lime blossoms, blood orange peel, anise and cardamom are a fragrant overtone heralding this fresh Champagne, which shows good tension and drive. The refined, chalky mousse is lacy in texture, buoying finely meshed flavors of ripe apricot and quince paste, raw almond, vanilla wafer and candied ginger. Ends with a long, mouthwatering finish. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Disgorged September 2022. Drink now through 2036. (95) WINE SPECTATOR2016chardonnay, Pinot noirFrance376$340.00 As low as $306.00 -
Carbon Brut NVMore product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
NVPinot Meunier, Pinot noirFrance376$430.00 As low as $387.00