Pooley 2025 Cooinda Vale Riesling

 

I have long subscribed to the view that dry rieslings from Tasmania are best enjoyed several months after being bottled, or at four or more years of age if you like more savoury notes. Very young rieslings from the island state can often be ultra high in acidity. If you subscribe to that viewpoint then you'll find this wine from one of Tasmania's finest family producers to be right in the zone right now. There is serious depth of flavour thanks to whole-bunch pressing, and four months on lees, but the wine retains its bright, lively, citrusy attitude on the finish. Pair this Coal Valley product with pan-fried snapper or blue eye for a Tassie taste treat. $70. https://www.pooleywines.com.au/   

Kreglinger 2019 Vintage Brut

Looking for a serious, food-friendly sparkling wine? This is a classic blend of pinot noir and chardonnay from the same people that make the Pipers Brook table wines. It offers complexity and richness on the palate while retaining cool-climate freshness and vibrancy. Made from grapes grown in a single vineyard in Pipers River - in the far north of tTasmania - this is an excellent dinner party choice with berry/apple orchard aromas leading to a delightfully balanced palate that is simultaneously yeasty, toasty, citrusy and savoury with an impressive mousse. Cold fermentation in barrel, malo and battonage have added to a kaleidoscope of flavours and textures. This was aged for five years+ in bottle before release. $65. https://www.kreglingerwineestates.com/

Holm Oak 2024 Shiraz

 

Cool-climate shirazes from Tasmania are increasingly find favour with wine drinkers looking for more subtle/elegant takes on the grape variety. With the 2024 vintage wines coming from a warm, dry year at Rowella in the Tamar Valley, that created perfect conditions for fine, peppery shiraz. I really liked the immediate drinkability of this one, which has moderate alcohol but plenty of flavour. Red fruit and spice notes are aided and abetted by quality French oak (just 20% new) that sits comfortably in the background. Fruit driven, medium bodied and a statement that there is more to Tasmanian reds than just pinot. Pair this with poultry dishes, or maybe roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. $50. www.holmpoakvineyards.com.au.  

Freycinet Vineyard 2025 Louis Schönburger Riesling

This unusual sweet white blend has found favour with a couple of Tasmania's best producers - and is a very amiable companion for spicy dishes from the likes of Thailand and Korea, or maybe an Indian vegetable curry.  This one, from a pioneering producer on the east coast, is a blend of 67% German hybrid schönburger and 33% riesling, with a melange of sweet/ripe tropical fruit flavours to the fore, along with hints of white spice and citrus notes. Aromatic, and soft on the palate, this would also pair well with a platter featuring soft blue cheeses. Drink young. Drink chilled. $33. https://freycinetvineyard.com.au/

Dalrymple 2024 Single Site Pipers River Pinot Noir

 

Here’s a great combo. One of Australia’s leading wine families; top-quality Tasmanian grapes and talented winemaker Pete Caldwell. This is one of a pair of uber-impressive new release single-site Tasmanian pinots from Hill-Smith family-owned Dalrymple: this one from the winery’s home turf in Pipers River in the far north, the other from the Coal River Valley in the south. From a warm - for Tasmania - year, it has dark cherry and spice notes, is ripe and bright with well integrated oak. It pulls off the neat trick of being intense and elegant at the same time. Pair with Chinese roast duck  $80. www.dalrymplevineyards.com.au

Two Tonne Tasmania TMV Chardonnay 2025

 

Here's one of the stars from a batch of impressive new 2025 TTT releases from Ricky Evans - the pinots and riesling are also well worth seeking out. Evans makes wines under the TTT and Woodlawn Park labels as well as running popular Launceston wine bar Havilah and is a proven star on the Tasmanian wine scene. This is a lovely cool-climate chardonnay from Evans' home ground in the Tamar Valley, pure and linear with enticing chalky minerality. Whole-bunch, fermentation in older big format oak and some malo for palate complexity have delivered a wine with immediate appeal and brisk natural acidity/salinity on the finish. Very impressive - one for Burgundy lovers priced out of that market. Look out for this label. $39. 

Spring Vale 2019 Family Selection Pinot Noir

 

Hitting Tasmania’s delightful east coast? Want to take home a very stylish local wine that is mature and ready to enjoy right now? This one hits the bullseye; delicious classic cool-climate pinot noir from land at Cranbrook that has been farmed by the Lyne family since 1875. The vineyards arrived a bit later: in 1986, but Spring Vale is very much part of regional history. I really enjoyed the balance of this wine; beautifully poised between fruit and savoury notes, and well worth a splurge. Note, however, that it is made in tiny quantities - from one barrique - and virtually impossible to find anywhere other than cellar door. $125. www.springvalewines.com