Tasmania dominates in sparkling update to Wine Classification of Australia
Aaron Brasher in Wine Classification Become a member to view this article
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Several Moorilla sparklings have achieved One and Two Merits. Moorilla Wines
Wine Classification Feature Week
In the recent update of The Real Review Wine Classification of Australia, an array of sparkling wines qualified to receive their inaugural one and two Merit status. Tasmania featured heavily in these elevations, with other notable regions being the Yarra Valley, Orange and the Adelaide Hills.
These results are a decent barometer of where sparkling wine quality is at in Australia, with quality and choice never being better. Likewise, on a global stage, Australian sparkling wine continues to make plenty of noise, with the most recent accolade coming from the International Wine Challenge where House of Arras chief winemaker Ed Carr was named sparkling winemaker of the year—the first time an Australian has been bestowed with this honour.
These results are a decent barometer of where sparkling wine quality is at in Australia, with quality and choice never being better.Four wines to debut in the two-Merit ranks this year are Apogee Deluxe Vintage Rosé, Home Hill Kelly’s Sparkling Cuvée Vintage, Henskens Rankin Vintage Brut and Moorilla Cloth Label Late Disgorged Sparkling Vintage. These four have one thing in common: they hail from Tasmania.
Apogee is the latest venture of highly acclaimed winemaker and champion of Tasmanian sparkling wine, Andrew Pirie. Fruit for the Apogee wines is sourced from vineyards in the northern part of Tasmania around the Pipers River region. Sparkling wine is all that husband-and-wife team Frieda Henskens and David Rankin produce, and the most recent vintage of Henskens Rankin is sourced from the Tasman Peninsula and Coal River Valley in the south. Likewise, Home Hill and Moorilla have their fruit source in the southern part of the ‘Apple Isle’.
There was also an effervescence of Tassie action in newly acquired one-Merit status, with Delamere Blanc de Blancs Vintage, House of Arras Brut Elite NV, Moorilla Extra Brut Vintage, Moorilla Extra Brut Rosé Vintage, Pirie Tasmania Traditional Method NV and Jansz Tasmania Late Disgorged Vintage Cuvée all making their debut.
The elevation to one-Merit status was not just the domain of Tasmanian sparkles, there were also new kids on the block from the Yarra Valley’s Oakridge Blanc de Blancs Vintage, Petaluma Croser Late Disgorged Vintage from the Adelaide Hills and De Salis Canobolas Lofty Cuvée Vintage from the high-altitude Orange region making an appearance for the first time.
Australian sparkling wine is in a very good place at the moment. Isn’t it time for the world to discover that great sparkling wine doesn’t begin and end with Champagne? The wines above are an absolute testament to the ever-increasing quality and breadth on offer from our own shores.
The Wine Classification Dinner
The Wine Classification DinnerJoin us in celebrating the updated Wine Classifications of Australia and NZ. Tim Kirk from Clonakilla will be our special guest at this flagship dinner at The Sanderson, Sydney.