House of Arras Tasmania Brut Elite Cuvee 1601 NV

House of Arras Tasmania Brut Elite Cuvee 1601 

Region: Tasmania, Australia

Vintage: NV

Bottle size: 75cl

Grape: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier

ABV: 12%

Light straw with a green and gold hue. A lifted, complex nose has aromas of white stone fruit, grapefruit pith, lanolin and oyster shell. The palate is red fruit dominant, with layers of blood orange, lychee, barley and truffle. The firm, natural acidity provides the backbone for this elegant style.

Fruit is sourced primarily from the Derwent Valley with additional fruit coming from sites in Tamar Estuary, East Coast and Coal River Valley. Offering a patchwork of soils, aspects and climatic conditions, each vineyard contributes unique characters to the final blend. All trellising is VSP and supplementary irrigation is used in some vintages due to dry conditions.

The fruit was hand picked and whole bunch pressed, using only the free-run juice. Primary fermentation included 7.4% in new and one year old French oak barriques. Malolactic fermentation was initiated for softness and complexity. The wine was then blended to style from the three classic varieties and matured on lees for a minimum of 4 years.

Ed Carr has been the head winemaker at Arras since 1998. This year 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.”

https://houseofarras.com.au