Tasmania's House of Arras will release its 2024 collection on Monday October 28. The sparkling wines include the 2016 Grand Vintage, 2016 Blanc de Blancs, 2016 Rosé, 2009 E.J. Carr Late Disgorged, and a limited allocation of the 2008 E.J. Carr Late Disgorged Magnum.
The 2009 E.J. Carr Late Disgorged is just the 12th release of the limited edition sparkling, which uses only the best parcels of fruit and spent 13 years on tirage. “The 2009 vintage was challenging but resulted in an array of outstanding fruit to craft our flagship wine. It remained relatively dry and cool throughout the growing season, and pressures like frost and wine reduced total yields for the season,” says chief winemaker Ed Carr.
Ed Carr, who was the first Australian winemaker to be awarded Sparkling Winemaker of the Year at the International Wine Challenge earlier this year, says the vintage collection release is the most important date on the House of Arras calendar. "As a winemaking team, our driving force is sharing fine Tasmanian sparkling with the world, so it's such a joy to unveil a collection of wines that we consider our finest work yet.
"I am excited by the creativity and forward-looking outlooks of the House of Arras team and our amazing grape growers. Our aspiration has always been to produce some of the world’s best sparkling wines that resonate the purity and taste of Tasmania. This can only be done through collaboration, attention to detail and investment in time. This 2024 collection highlights that we are achieving this goal and that we can give sparkling wine lovers something unique, delicious and memorable to drink.”
Read Dave Brookes' House of Arras tasting notes below
2016 House of Arras Rosé, Tasmania
Light straw with a slight blush and a fine, energetic bead and aromas of red and green apple, citrus fruits, redcurrant and distant wild strawberry notes. Hints of oyster shell, raspberry flan, meadow flowers, freshly baked brioche, dried honey, sea spray, crushed riverstone and makrut lime butter. Soft spice notes waft in on the palate with a touch of grilled hazelnut, finishing stony dry and beautifully focused and pure of line. – Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion, 96 pointsRRP $136 | Drink to 2034
2016 House of Arras Grand Vintage, Tasmania
Pale straw in the glass with the finest of beads and aromas of white peach, apple, citrus and pear fruits with hints of soft spice, freshly baked brioche and apple turnover, freshly picked mushrooms, meadow clover, oyster shell brine and stone. Dry and long with light shortbread notes, a touch of whey and a high-tensile, gloriously saline and sapid acid line. – Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion, 96 pointsRRP $136 | Drink to 2034
2016 House of Arras Blanc de Blancs, Tasmania
Pale straw in the glass with a fine, energetic bead and mousse. Crunchy apple, bright citrus and white peach fruits with hints of clotted cream, sea spray, freshly baked brioche, shortbread, soft spice, whey, shiitake broth and crushed stone. Daubs of cream and fresh apple pastry tones on the palate, which is stony pure and shows a vivid, cleansing acid line, exiting dry with a lovely savoury lean. – Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion, 95 pointsRRP $136 | Drink to 2034
2009 House of Arras EJ Carr Late Disgorged, Tasmania
Disgorged November '23. Pale straw with an energetic bead and mousse. Expressive green apple, lemon, grapefruit and white peach fruit tones with hints of soft spice, fresh brioche, clotted cream, sea spray, crushed riverstone, shiitake broth, crushed oyster shell and freshly baked pastries. Wonderfully composed; the aromas transpose neatly over onto the palate, which shows impeccable balance and harmony. A high-tensile, minerally cadence drives things along admirably, finishing dry, pure as snow melt and layered in its spice and autolytic complexity. Such beautifully made wines, they are just a pleasure to drink. – Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion, 98 pointsRRP $277 | Drink to 2036
2008 House of Arras EJ Carr Late Disgorged En Magnum, Tasmania
64.4/35.6 per cent chardonnay/pinot noir, aged on lees in tirage for 14 years, disgorged November 2023. It goes without saying that a large format version of Ed Carr's outstanding Late Disgorged Arras is always going to be a good idea. Light straw in the glass with an ultra-fine bead and aromas of green apple, juicy nectarine and white peach and hints of proving sourdough, crushed oyster shell, freshly baked brioche, sea spray, enoki mushrooms, shortbread, crushed stone and white flowers. Long, complex and wonderfully balanced, toasty autolysis notes fluttering in and out of the olfactory field of vision, citrus and apple fruits, tautly stretched on a framework of nervy, minerally acidity. Beautifully focused and pristine drinking. – Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion, 98 pointsRRP $500 | Drink to 2036
