It's from the East Coast of Tasmania and is estate-grown, hand-picked and artisanally crafted; all of which would normally scream "I'm expensive". Not this wine. The MacLean Bay label, a joint venture between two close friends, Scott Williams and Simon Will, not only offers boutique wines, but also excellent value. This recent release has some delightful floral aromas, fresh berry flavours and a nice brisk finish, along with some faint savoury notes. The vineyard, just north of Bicheno, used to be called Diamond Island. $24. www.macleanbaywines.com.au.
Something new. Something different. Something exciting. Brothers Jonny and Matt Hughes have considerable experience in the Tasmanian wine industry and have now struck out on their own with their Hughes & Hughes label. Based at Flowerpot, in the d'Entrecasteaux Channel south of Hobart, they have released three pinots from the recent 2016 vintage and this small-batch effort really caught my eye. As the label suggests, 20% is whole bunch processed, the remainder being whole berry. It's obviously a young wine, but it has both impressive power and texture. High-quality stuff - and a label worth keeping an eye out for. $33. Call 0439367653.
Bob and Rita Richter, the couple behind Grey Sands Vineyard at Glengarry, march to the beat of a different winemaking drum, which means they can always be relied on to produce idiosyncratic wines with real personality. This blend of 90% chardonnay and 10% viognier is a case in point; a four-year-old white that is a current release; and an unusual blend of grapes. This is an alluring, complex white with a combination of tropical fruit and citrus notes. The viognier adds interesting textural elements and the wine finishes dry with brisk acid. $40. https://greysands.com.au
The perfect choice for summer; a savoury but refreshing cool-climate rosé from talented wife and husband team Fran Austin and Shane Holloway at Pipers River in north-eastern Tasmania. Made from 100% pinot noir, Tasmania's star grape variety, this has delightful floral aromas that lead on to a dry palate with strawberry and cream notes. It is unoaked, relying on fresh fruit flavours for its inherent appeal. Pair with a Lebanese mezze plate, summer salads or just enjoy on the back porch after work.
$25. www.delamerevineyards.com.au.
Made in tiny quantities (the vineyard is only 1-hectare), this pinot noir never fails to impress. Ian and Caryl Cairns thumb their noses at the elements by growing top-class pinot using organic and biodynamic methods on the eastern foothills of the Cluan Tier overlooking the Liffey Valley outside Deloraine in north-western Tasmania. The massive diurnal variation in the region makes for intensely flavoured wines, which are hand-picked and made with minimal sulphur, and this is a crackingly good example, unashamedly varietal, tight, taut and terrific with great balance and immediately approachability. Delicious and well worth seeking out. $36. Ring (03) 6397 3470 for retail outlets.
Joe Holyman is a colourful, fun-loving character, whose high-quality wines reflect both his sense of humour (take a look at the label on this bottle, which appears to feature either Joe or wine writer Mike Bennie naked) and his serious winemaking side. This is a charmingly rustic new release; made without the addition of any sulphur, which is used as a preservative in most wines. It takes "minimal intervention" to the brink as it was also bottled without being fined or filtered. If you enjoy wines made in the style of Beaujolais or Passetoutrgains you'll love this unpretentious little number. It is fresh and immediately approachable; like the vinous equivalent of a bowl of fresh strawberries and cream with truffles on top. It is texturally pleasing, too. Put a bottle of this in the fridge for an hour or so and enjoy chilled on a warm summer day. $32. http://winestore.stoneyrise.com/no-clothes-no-so2-pinot-noir/
Vaughn Dell and Linda Morice are a talented and innovative young couple who make some of Tasmania's most exciting wines under the Sinapius label, utilising fruit from their own close-planted vines at Pipers River and also using grapes sourced from the Tamar Valley. This is the second release of their white field blend from their own estate, a melange of 50% riesling, 30% gruner veltliner and 15% pinot gris, along with small portions of pinot blanc and gewurztraminer. Now bottled in Alsace-style bottles, this is thoroughly interesting wine with textural elements alongside bright fruit and crisp acid from young vines.The hand-picked fruit was whole-bunch pressed with a percentage of the fruit left on skins for 48 hours. The five varieties were co-fermented with using indigenous yeasts matured in old 500-litre puncheons, and kept on lees for five months. The end result is captivating; think apple, pear, citrus, stone fruit and spice notes, white pepper and kaffir limes, plenty of texture and crispness on the finish. Think Alsatian freshness rather than oiliness. With fewer than 400 cases made, speed might be of the essence. $38. www.sinapius.com.au.
