No.16: Yarra Burn Premium Cuvee NV

I first stumbled across the wines of Yarra Burn when Constellation were doing one of their mass unloadings of a parcel of wines into Majestic. There were no bubbles amongst the selection but thoroughly enjoyed the still whites so it would have been rude of me not to include some of their bubbles in my 100 Australian sparkling wines to try.

The fruit, a blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir is sourced from around the Yarra Valley with flavours of honey, white peach, brioche, apple and melon on the nose. The ripe and fresh flavours continue on the  palate and combine with a creamy mouthfeel, a hint of honeysuckle, toast and fresh strawberries alongside the white peach, brioche and other flavours shown on the nose.

I was pleasantly surprised and impressed with the Yarra Burn NV, there's plenty going on and the wine has enough acidity and structure to create a flavoursome and enjoyable glass of bubbles. There are a few more wines in the Yarra Burn sparkling wines range and I am looking forward to trying them all and the joy is they don't break the bank, a great mid-week treat indeed.

No.14:Taltarni Brut NV

What's a girl to do when she arrives a little early for dinner with the fantabulous Nat from Jansz? Why have a glass of bubbles of course!

Not a realistic interpretation of last Thursday. Imagine darker and with polar bears!

Taltarni Brut NV is made in the Pyrenees from fruit sourced in Victoria and the Clover Hill vineyard in Tasmania and is a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.

Made in the traditional method the wine has the merest hint of pink and a nose that shows plenty of stone fruits, fresh apples and ripe lemons. On the palate these lovely ripe, fresh flavours of apricots, peaches, apples and lemons combine with some red fruits such as strawberries, raspberries and cherries. 

 The acidity is harmonious and keeps the wine fresh in the mouth and although this isn't the most complex of wines, it is definitely a pleasure to drink and perfect for gossiping with friends pre-martinis.

Pepik Rose, Josef Chromy

Pink bubbles. They can be quite the divider for people and to be honest I blame the  huge mega-corporations and their industrial battery farming for grapes. If that was all the pink fizz I'd tried I might be a bit hesitant.It is also often referred to as a girls drink however being both a girl and enthusiastic about things pink and fizzy I am not put off by that.

A blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir like the Non-Vintage and 2008 the wine is a pale salmon pink but there is something quite vibrant about it in the glass.  The colour is introduced at disgorging with a little top up of red wine which makes for a crunchy red fruity style of sparkling wine.

Bags of redcurrant, cherry, strawberry, raspberry and hints of vanilla and white pepper this sparkling rose is crisp, clean and a great match to home made pizza, cured ham and soft white cheeses.

No.48:Josef Chromy 2008

Still work here. Still biased....

The 2008 from Josef Chromy is a different beast to the NV and a young whippersnapper to boot. Pale lemon with small fast moving bubbles and fine beading on the rim the nose is highly aromatic with brioche,  honey, apples, lemon, candied orange peel and a hint of richness.

A very creamy mouthfeel with lots of youthful characteristics of green apple, lemons and fresh bread this sparkling is just getting going. Softer, richer and less racy than the non vintage I would be very interested to see how this continues to develop over the next five years to see how all the promise it shows eventually reveals itself. 

I haven't tasted much older Tasmanian sparkling wines but the few I have tasted have been very impressive and I will definitely be tucking some of the Josef Chromy 2008 aside to enjoy over the years. Now all I have to do is see what older vintages are lurking over at the winery.....

No.2:Josef Chromy NV

This review must come with a disclaimer. I work here but then again I only work in good places so you'll have to decide for yourself what level of bias I am possibly at!

Josef Chromy is located in the southern part of the Tamar Valley wine route in the little village of Relbia. Josef has been a part of the history of many local wineries including Tamar Ridge but it is here that Josef Chromy wines reside with Jeremy Dineen at the helm.

All the sparkling wines are made traditionally and disgorged on site at our fancy winery across the lake from the cellar door. See below for aforementioned lake and winery peeking around the corner.

I give people the NV to try every day so being the consummate professional that I am I try it frequently to make sure it's at its finest. A citrussy nose with hints of white flowers amongst the fresh lemon and green apple it follows through on the palate to create a racy, clean and crisp sparkling wine.

A good palate cleanser, the fresh vibrancy of the wine is an ideal match for our oysters or a cheeky livener pre-dinner to awaken the palate. The Josesf Chromy NV has a youthfulness about it without tasting under ripe or too green and I would recommend it as a drinker more than a keeper as its sprightly nature is its selling point.

Biased or not? Why don't you pop down and see me at the Cellar door and decide for yourself?

Sir James 2004, Hardy's

The joy of being back in Tassie isn't just the wine it is the fabulous food that we take for granted. Bruny Island cheeses, quail, venison, Lilydale and Nichols chickens and other goodies are gloriously easy to find making it a greedy girls dream.

My day off rocked around again so with lemons from the backyard and a chicken from up the Tamar in Lilydale on the menu I thought an older sparkler would be just the thing. 

Sir James Hardy is the great grandson of Thomas Hardy founder of one of Australia's most famous wine labels. The wine is a blend of Chardonnay 35%, Pinot Noir 55% and Pinot Meunier 10% and the fruit is sourced from Tasmania, Tumbarumba and the Yarra Valley. 

After a primary fermentation in stainless steel the second fermentation is spent in bottle for at least 3 years. All this sounds fabulous and I wish I liked it more than I did. I hope I just had a duff bottle as despite an appealing nose of lemons, apples, stone fruits, honey and yeast the palate did not follow through.

Despite some ripe tropical and stone fruit flavours and a little yeastiness it was lacking in intensity of flavour. It didn't have the taste of a sparkler that was over the hill but it had the taste of something that couldn't quite get itself going. 

At this point I'm not fully going to write this off as a disappointing wine but I will wait a while before going back for another taste. Like watching a film once the hype has died down, far more enjoyable if one can judge it on its own merits rather than be swayed by reviews.  

Bubbleduck 2008, Puddleduck

Being the lucky kind of girl that I am, for my birthday this year I got what I wanted. It was quite simple really, I just wanted to spend my birthday back in Tasmania and have some delicious local bubbles and that is exactly what I got!

Bubbleduck is made by Puddleduck Vineyard in Richmond, southern Tasmania and is a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay with the Pinot being more dominant. Made traditionally the nose is a really inviting blend of yeast, baked apple, honey, orange peel and stone fruits.

As my birthday is now an Autumn/winter experience the weightier autolytic flavours, bready and yeasty are perfect for this time of year and the wine is freshened up with apples, honey and crisp lemon flavours. 

Although still youthful the Bubbleduck is drinking beautifully and a big thank you to Jason and the Josef Chromy folks for treating me on my birthday. I would be very keen to see how this develops over the coming years but until then Puddleduck joins the ranks of cracking Tassie sparklers.

Josef Chromy, Relbia not a bad place for a glass of bubbles!