Stargazer 2025 Tupelo

This is one of the stars of the recent Stargazer new vintage release, although they are all stellar from Sam Connew's boutique Coal River Valley operation. While Connew concentrates largely on chardonnay, riesling and pinot noir, this is an outlier in that it is an Alsace-accented wild-fermented blend of pinot gris, pinot blanc, gewurztraminer and riesling. This was tasted after a trade event so I didn't match it with food, but I suspect it would pair magically with a nasi goreng or Thai Veggie curry - anything with a touch of spice. It's a lovely young wine with honeyed fruit with balancing acidity, and an impressive lightness of being. $40. www.stargazerwine.com.au.

Tamar Ridge 2024 Single Block Pinot Noir Rosevears

 

An impressive single block pinot from Tamar Ridge's Rosevears vineyard on the eastern side of the Tamar Valley - great work by winemaker Tom Wallace and his team. It was sent to me to celebrate a new deal that sees Oatley Fine Wine Merchants named the exclusive distributors of the Tasmanian wines from Tamar Ridge and Pirie, but the sheer quality will be of more interest to most drinkers. It has the style and poise common to cool-climate pinots from Tasmania, along with power and structure more often associated with Central Otago, as the 2024 vintage was a warmer one. Think plummy flavours, hints of spice and fine tannins. Can be enjoyed now with game dishes, or cellared for up to a decade. $110. https://www.tamarridge.com.au

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.