2016 House of Arras, Tasmania Vintage Rosé - Liberty

Ed Carr has been the head winemaker at Arras since 1998. In 2024, he was awarded ‘Sparkling Winemaker of the Year’ at the IWC. James Halliday calls him “a quietly spoken genius, whose name should be known around the world. He is, by some considerable distance, Australia’s greatest sparkling winemaker.”

Ed has always sourced his fruit from seven of Tasmania’s best wine-growing regions: Tamar Valley, Pipers River (where House of Arras is based), Coal River Valley, the East Coast, Huon Valley, Derwent Vally, and Devonport. Offering a patchwork of soils, aspects and climatic conditions, each vineyard contributes unique characters to the final blend. Ed saw earlier than others the potential for sparkling wine in Tasmania, as the cool climate yields vibrant, acid-driven fruit that is perfectly suited for secondary fermentation and, crucially, extensive lees-ageing. Ed is a proponent of lengthy triage, much to the horror of his accountants, insisting on lees-ageing his vintage wines for at least six years before disgorgement. As a result, the Arras sparkling wines display great depth and complexity.

‘A by Arras’ NV is a blend of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier, and is lees aged for 30 months before disgorgement. This ageing period is considerably shorter than the Arras norm and offers a lighter interpretation of Ed’s distinctive style. The Blanc de Blancs NV, 100% Chardonnay, is made in the same way, resulting in notes of fresh grapefruit balanced with lemon curd and natural yoghurt. The Brut Elite is made predominantly from a single vintage but includes multi-vintage blending to achieve a consistent style with each release. Aged for four years on lees, it boasts flavours of red berries, blood orange, lychee, brioche, and truffle.

The Arras signature is stamped on their vintage wines. Both the ‘Grand Vintage’ and Vintage Rosé are aged for six years on lees. The ‘Grand Vintage’ is a blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, sourced from vineyards in the East Coast, Derwent Valley, Coal River Valley and Pipers River. It is a richly textured wine that is perfectly balanced by vibrant acidity. The Vintage Rosé is equally impressive, made from a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. It is a seamless, elegant wine with layers of complexity and depth of flavour.

The fruit is sourced primarily from the Coal River Valley area in Tasmania's south east, with additional fruit coming from sites in the Derwent Valley, Pipers River and East Coast. All vineyards are on VSP trellis and have supplementary irrigation due to the dry summer and autumn. The canopies are managed to maintain dappled light on the fruit, to allow sufficient light intensity for full ripening whilst avoiding sunburn.

The 2016 vintage was quite warm and dry overall. This encouraged early budburst and consequently rapid shoot growth. These conditions continued throughout the summer months, so fruit set was even and with careful irrigation, there were good crop yields.

The fruit is hand picked and gently pressed with only the highest quality juice selected for fermentation. Further complexity and character are built into the wine with 10% fermentation in new French oak barriques followed by 100% malolactic fermentation. The blended wine was matured for seven years in tirage ensuring an unrivalled depth and complexity in the wine.

This wine has lifted aromas of red berries, yoghurt and Pink Lady apple. Flavours of maraschino cherry, Turkish Delight and stone fruits are complimented by secondary characters of sourdough and field mushroom. A distinctly mineral finish preserves excellent freshness and vibrancy.