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Elevated to its own listing for the first time, sparkling rosé is now firmly established as a very serious contender in the Australian wine landscape. Tasmania rightly leads the way, representing almost half of the list, with the Adelaide Hills hot in pursuit, and Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia all claim a listing.
Having established her credentials as Australia’s Sparkling Rosé Queen during her long tenure at Jansz, Natalie Fryar is responsible for three of our finalists (consulting to Piper’s Brook, while making her own brand of Bellebonne). In an almost unanimous clean-sweep vote by the tasting panel, Bellebonne is a fitting winner of our inaugural Sparkling Rosé of the Year.
Having established her credentials as Australia’s Sparkling Rosé Queen during her long tenure at Jansz, Natalie Fryar is responsible for three of our finalists (consulting to Piper’s Brook, while making her own brand of Bellebonne). In an almost unanimous clean-sweep vote by the tasting panel, Bellebonne is a fitting winner of our inaugural Sparkling Rosé of the Year.
2017 Bellebonne Natalie Fryar Vintage Rosé
100% pinot noir, hand harvested. Matured nine months in aged French oak barrels with bâtonnage for texture and creaminess. Barrel selection. Traditional method, aged 44 months on lees with 7.5g/L dosage. The pinot noir of the old vines of the Kreglinger vineyard has always been something to behold, and never has it looked more precise nor more graceful than this. Delectable red cherry and wild-strawberry fruit seduces from the outset, graced with the signature Turkish delight of Pipers River, but it’s the creamy, silky texture of barrel and lees work that really sets apart this sublime creation. – Tyson Stelzer
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*This is an edited extract from the 2022 Halliday Wine Companion, with reviews by Jane Faulkner, James Halliday, Erin Larkin, Tony Love, Ned Goodwin MW, Jeni Port and chief editor Tyson Stelzer.
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