rating A

standout deservedly the best known Aussie sparkling producer

about owned by Yalumba, Australia's largest and oldest family-run winery, Jansz is a sparkling wine project based in Tasmania. Under the direction of leading Champagne winery Louis Roederer in the 1980s, Jansz was the first Tasmanian producer to make sparkling wine using the traditional method. Since then, it has established a reputation for Australia's foremost bubbles. Although most of the vines are planted in Piper’s Brook to the north of the island, there is a brand-new facility to the south near the main city of Hobart. The ambition is to increase production without compromising quality, showcasing wines from both edges of the island.

wines tasted

Jansz Premium Cuvée Rosé Tasmania NV ($25)

The fruit comes from Tasmania's cooler regions, including Tamar Valley and Pipers River to the north and Coal River Valley to the south. The wine receives 18 months' lees contact in the bottle and has a dosage of 7.9g/L to balance the refreshingly high acidity. Aa delicate, expressive wine, with ripe, fresh aromas of strawberries, raspberries, and rose petals, vibrant acidity, and a light lees texture.

Single Vineyard Chardonnay 2022 (from barrel) and 2016 (from bottle) (AUS$65)

The base wine had an acid kick but the lees ageing gave it a richness and roundness, even though the wine is only a year old; fermented with native yeasts to add to the round texture. The bottled wine from 2016 spent four and a half years on the lees, with just 4g/L dosage, for a savoury, acidic, lightly rich but delicate style, with a mature complexity.

Rosé 2022 (from barrel) and 2018 (from bottle) ($50)

All from Pinot Noir, the base wine was completely white—the colour in the final wine comes from adding red wine at dosage. The base wine had a still integrating lees texture and high acid; the final wine from 2018 was aged for three years on the lees with a dosage of 6g/L which balanced the fruitiness of the wine with red fruit, sweet spice, creamy aromas.

Vintage Cuvée 2022 (from barrel) and 2018 (from bottle) ($55)

A blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir—the final blend in the 2018 was 60% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir—the base wine felt very acid driven, while the bottled wine (three and a half years on the lees, 4.6g/L dosage) was gentler, the ageing giving it a soft maturity while maintaining complex floral, creamy, sweet spice aromas.

Pontos Hills Vintage Cuvée 2022 (from barrel) and 2017 (from bottle) (AUS$55)

The first to come from the new property in Coal River Valley. It's a field blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Meunier, and both the base wine and the bottled wine felt wilder and rounder than the wines from the north end of the island. 2017 is the first release of the wine, and it will definitely develop with each future vintage.

website https://www.jansz.com.au/en

email wineroom@jansz.com.au

phone

address 1216B Pipers Brook Rd, Pipers Brook, Tasmania