Leo Buring 2024 Leopold Tasmania Riesling

Leo Buring is a wine brand usually associated with fine and potentially long-lived rieslings from the Clare and Eden valleys in South Australia. But winemaker Marie Clay also has access to some top-notch riesling fruit grown at White Hills in northern Tasmania. A very good growing season saw the fruit allowed to reach maximum flavour intensity before being full-bunch pressed. The juice was matured for six months on lees in stainless steel; and a small portion in a ceramic tulip. The end result is a generously favoured riesling with impressive texture. Floral, spicy, long. soft and clean with just a smidgen of residual sugar. Very food friendly. $40.      

Callington Mill El Sol

 

OK. This is a Tasmanian whisky, not a wine, but it does have a serious fortified wine link. This limited release from Oatlands-based Callington Mill distillery was finished in wine barrels that were previously used to mature sherry in Jerez, Spain. That gives this very smooth single malt a different character. The casks were used for maturing styles including Oloroso, Pedro Ximenez, Amontillado, Palo Cortado, Fino, and Moscatel, giving the spirit a luscious sweet/savoury element. El Sol means the sun, and reflects the sun-baked Spanish climate. Think raisin/sultana/brioche and cocoa elements. An ideal Father's Day gift. $149. https://callingtonmilldistillery.com/
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Two Bud Spur 2020 Pinot Noir

Here’s a mature Tasmanian pinot noir from the deep south that delivers some delicious cool-climate characters. There is depth of flavour here, but also a silky smooth finish. It is not often you find a five-year-old current release pinot, and this one is drinking particularly well. The Two Bud Spur vineyard is located at Gardners Bay, outside Cygnet, in the ultra-cool Huon Valley. It is operated by Craig Mundy and Karen Miller, a pair of marine biologists who bought the vineyard in 2006 and have since built their own winery and cellar door (open seasonally). The fruit was open vat fermented in small batches and spent 12 months in French oak barrels (50% new) and 12 months in stainless steel, Impressive - and made in tiny quantities. $45. https://twobudspur.com.au/

Bangor Abel Tasman 2023 Pinot Noir

 

Bangor's excellent Vineyard Shed cellar door on the Tasman Peninsula is a very worthwhile day trip from Hobart with a good choice of tasting brackets across a range of different styles, an impressive restaurant and great views. All just 45 minutes from the Tasmanian capital. This is the senior of two pinot noir offerings, a small-batch wine with impressive complexity and power on the palate, but also offering immediate drinkability. It is certainly a food-friendly style - we matched it with roast lamb. It is red-fruited with a spicy/pepper edge. $59. https://bangorshed.com.au/

Holm Oak 2025 Riesling

Tasmania gets a lot of attention for its stellar sparkling wines, as well as world-class chardonnays and pinots noir. What is often overlooked is that riesling can also thrive in the cool climes, much as it does in the Canberra region. This is a stellar cool-climate offering from a family-owned and -operated vineyard in the Tamar Valley in the north of the state. It is impressively floral with tangy citrus characters playing the lead role. There is plenty of lively acid on hand and this finishes dry with lots of length. We paired it with a hearty Toad in the Hole with braised leek, but it would also work well with seafood and poultry dishes. Very well priced at $32. www.holmoakvineyards.com.au.      

Penfolds 2024 Bin 311 Chardonnay

 

This one of the affordable stars of the new-release Penfolds Collection 2025, which hit the stores this week. It is a tribute to the quality of cool-climate chardonnay grapes from Tasmania that they play a key role in this outstanding multi-regional chardonnay blend, along with fruit from the Adelaide Hills and Tumbarumba in NSW. This is a confident chardonnay with a some strut and swagger about it. It is a poised, composed wine with lovely balance between citrus/white peach flavours, minerality and astutely judged new and seasoned oak, which provides backbone without detracting from the fruit. There is purity and precision in abundance. A very good year; a very fine wine. 95/1000 from me. $55. www.penfolds.com.

Chartley Estate 2024 Sauvignon Blanc

 

Chartley Estate is a respected Tasmanian producer of 20 years standing that tends to fly a little under the radar compared with some of its higher-profile neighbours. This is a wine made from the Kossmann family's estate vineyard at Rowella in the West Tamar, vinified by one of the state's leading contract winemakers Peter Dredge. It offers a classic sauvignon blanc amalgam of tropical fruit salad/tangerines and lightly herbaceous tangy notes. A fresh, vivacious wine for enjoying chilled in its youth, perhaps paired with seafood dishes, or a chill crayfish omelette. $25. https://chartleyestatevineyard.com.au/