After a five-year hiatus, Adelaide Hills-based sparkling producer Croser has brought its NV blanc de blancs back into the fold. The traditional-method wine was made by Ella Hoban, who has been lead sparkling winemaker since late 2022.
While the wine has NV on the label, the new release is mostly 2021 fruit – an exceptional vintage in the Hills – making its $35 price-tag even more impressive. Chardonnay is sourced from the same Adelaide Hills sites as the Croser NV ($30), which is part of the reason it’s been off the shelves.
“To keep up with demand for the Croser NV we had to temporarily pause production of the blanc de blancs,” Ella says. Although she assures us it’s here to stay.
“We have the next release already in glass and a blend from this year awaiting tirage,” Ella says. “Our fruit outlook is looking much more lucrative going forward so we definitely plan for blanc de blancs to stay this time around!”
Croser began as the sparkling wine arm of Petaluma in 1985, then owned by Brian Croser. Previous vintages of the Croser Blanc De Blancs were made by Mike Mudge at Petaluma Winery in the Adelaide Hills. In 2021, Accolade Wines (which currently owns Croser) sold the Petaluma facility, moving sparkling wine production to its Tintara winery in McLaren Vale.
