Last week, bubbles fanatics rejoiced as Dan Murphy’s hosted a champagne and sparkling wine showcase in the Conservatory of the historic Ayer’s House. The event consisted of tasting a variety of bottles throughout the conservatory, which included Australian and international vintage and non-vintage cuvée, rosé and Prosecco. After having a good snoop around, I’ve thrown together a list of five sparking wine/champagne beverages that stood out for me.
HOUSE OF ARRAS Grand Vintage
Described as ‘the pinnacle of Australian sparking wine’, House of Arras sources it’s fruit from Tasmania. The award-winning Ed Carr and his team produce wine with character through an extended maturation of the yeast. This sparking wine manages to bear its smooth texture while maintaining multilayered strawberry undertones and a bread-like aroma. You can pick up a bottle for around $60.
BROWN BROTHERS Brut NV
Brown Brothers Brut IV provided us with a complex journey of rich flavours of green apple and citrus with a yeasty finish. This one won a couple of awards at the Royal Adelaide Show and the Rutherglen Wine Show this year, and it’s pretty good value since a bottle is about $22.
LANSON Gold Label Vintage (2005)
This fruity French champagne has an indistinguishable taste of minerals, lemon sorbet, dry sherbet, grapefruit zest and a hint of toast. The acidity will be sure to stop you in your tracks and a bottle is about $70.
DUPERREY Vintage
Duperrey Vintage Brut brings out the perfect balance between sweet and bready flavours. We could smells some citrus aromas on the nose with a contrast of brioche, almond and dried fruits. Concluded with a sweet yet oaky finish, this champagne is quite the journey – and it stands around $52 a bottle.
SANTA MARGHERITA Superiore 52 Prosecco NV
I thought it would be worthwhile tapping into the bargains with this Prosecco by Santa Margherita. This Prosecco guarantees an explosive bubbly mouthful enriched with the flavour of apple skins that tends to linger afterwards. This bottle comes for about $24.
Dan Murphy’s has long been providing us with unique and favourable types of champagne and sparkling wine from both Australia and overseas. Be sure to get a hold of a bottle (or several) from this list for a bit of indulgence, or better yet, head to Dan Murphy’s website to see what else there is to discover.
