Twinkle, twinkle little stars: Australia’s best sparkling wines
Christmas is so close we can smell it! The tree is up, the lights are twinkling and the supermarkets are starting to wonder if it’s not too early to start selling Hot Cross Buns.
So, not a moment too soon, we name our list of Australia’s best sparkling wines. And we have a silly season surprise for you: a Yarra Valley wine has knocked off the Tasmanians for our top pick as the country’s best sparkling wine.
The Coldstream Hills Pinot Noir Chardonnay 2013 is wearing more bling from this year’s wine show circuit than the Vinloco Christmas tree. It has picked up seven gold medals and three silvers without dropping even one dreaded “no score”. That’s an impressive haul that handily beats the category’s Tasmanian champions.
But there’s something for everyone on this year’s list. A sparkling red has made it to third (Blue Pyrenees Sparkling Shiraz NV), a sparkling rose takes out sixth place (Sidewood Isabella Rose 2013) and a prosecco sneaks into the top 10 (De Bortoli King Valley Prosecco NV).
Victorian wines took out six of the Top 10 places – an interesting development considering sparkling’s traditional strongholds in Tasmania and the Adelaide Hills. Exhibits were evenly split between non-vintage and vintage this year with medal awards slightly favouring vintage labels overall.
Our lists are drawn from more than 1500 sparkling scores awarded to 677 wines by the Australasian wine show system this year. It’s the widest, deepest and most objective consideration of Australasian sparkling wine available anywhere. Here’s our Top 50 list:
1 | Coldstream Hills Pinot Noir Chardonnay 2013 |
2 | Pirie Sparkling NV |
3 | Blue Pyrenees Sparkling Shiraz NV |
4 | Taltarni Blanc De Blancs 2013 |
5 | House of Arras Brut Elite C1301 NV |
6 | Sidewood “Isabella Rose” Sparkling Rose 2013 |
7 | House of Arras Grand Vintage 2008 |
8 | Domaine Chandon Blanc de Blancs 2013 |
9 | De Bortoli King Valley Prosecco NV |
10 | Brown Brothers Pinot Noir Chardonnay Pinot Meunier NV |
11 | Tempus Two Pewter Sparkling Pinot Noir Chardonnay 2012 |
12 | Clover Hill Cuvee Rose NV |
13 | Heemskerk Chardonnay Pinot Noir 2012 |
14 | Taltarni Cuvee Rose 2012 |
15 | Brown Brothers Patricia Pinot Noir, Chardonnay 2010 |
16 | Domaine Chandon Late Disgorged Sparkling 2006 |
17 | Blue Pyrenees Midnight Cuvee 2013 |
18 | House of Arras A by Arras NV |
19 | Brown Brothers Sparkling Brut Rose NV |
20 | Shingleback Black Bubbles Sparkling Shiraz NV |
21 | Blue Pyrenees Brut Rose NV |
22 | dArenberg Pollyanna Polly NV |
23 | Taltarni Brut Chardonnay Pinot Noir Pinot Meunier 2012 |
24 | 42 Degrees South Sparkling NV |
25 | Grant Burge Blanc de Noirs NV |
26 | Pinnacle Drinks Riversdale Crux Tasmania Sparkling NV |
27 | House of Arras Blanc de Blancs 2008 |
28 | Grant Burge Helene Grande Cuvee 2006 |
29 | Sidewood Sparkling Pinot Chardonnay NV |
30 | Sidewood Chloe Cuvee Chardonnay, Pinot Noir 2014 |
31 | Domaine Chandon Vintage Brut 2013 |
32 | Innocent Bystander Prosecco NV |
33 | Blue Pyrenees Midnight Cuvee 2014 |
34 | Seppelt Salinger Pinot Noir Chardonnay 2013 |
35 | Taltarni Tache Sparkling Rose 2012 |
36 | Pirie Sparkling Rose 2011 |
37 | Bay of Fires Tasmanian Cuvee Brut NV |
38 | Domaine Chandon Whitlands Blanc De Blancs 2013 |
39 | Jacob’s Creek Reserve Chardonnay Pinot Noir 2016 |
40 | Pepperjack Sparkling Shiraz NV |
41 | Swings & Roundabouts Sparkling Chenin Blanc NV |
42 | Patritti, Dover Pinot Chardonnay NV |
43 | Swings & Roundabouts Backyard Stories Pinot Noir, Chardonnay NV |
44 | Blue Pyrenees Luna NV |
45 | Blue Pyrenees Vintage Brut 2012 |
46 | Yellow Tail Bubbles NV |
47 | Jacob’s Creek Sparkling Shiraz NV |
48 | Yarra Burn Vintage Brut 2015 |
49 | Printhie Swift Cuvee Sparkling NV |
50 | Printhie Swift Cuvee Sparkling 2011 |