I loved this wine at the Tasmanian Red Wine Weekend a few weeks ago, and I enjoyed the new-release 2014 even more the other night, when a bottle mysteriously evaporated over a couple of hours. Eddystone Point is nominally the second label of Bay of Fires, producing wines that are more immediately accessible and more cheaply priced. This has everything you'd want in a "drink now" cool-climate pinot; freshness, vibrancy, raspberry and dark cherry notes, hints of Asian spice and undergrowth. It is wonderfully supple - and dangerously easy to drink. $28. www.eddystonepoint.com.au.
This is a quintessentially modern-style Tassie chardonnay from the talented husband-and-wife team of Shane Holloway and Fran Austin from Delamere at Pipers River. Estate made, grown and bottled, it comes from a vintage that produced high-quality fruit in small quantities. This is a wine of impeccable balance. Unmistakably cool-climate chardonnay, it offers stone fruit and citrus notes, judicious, well-integrated French oak tones and lively acidity. It has undergone wild ferment, partial malo and months of lees stirring that has added complexity without diluting the purity. A wine of exceptional quality, this shines whether you are a sip-and-savour aficionado or like to go the full monty. Top stuff that I want to pair with roast pork and crackling. $45. www.delamerevineyards.com.au
