`A` By Arras Tasmania Premium Cuvée NV

Varietal: 48% Pinot Noir, 34% Chardonnay, 18% Pinot Meunier

Colour: White Style: Sparkling Vintage: NV

Producer: House of Arras

Description:
Ed Carr has been the head winemaker at House of Arras since 1998, and in 2024, he was awarded the prestigious ‘Sparkling Winemaker of the Year’ title by the International Wine Challenge. James Halliday calls him “a quietly spoken genius, whose name should be known around the world. He is, by some considerable distance, Australia’s greatest sparkling winemaker.”

Ed has always sourced his fruit from seven of Tasmania’s best wine-growing regions: Tamar Valley, Pipers River (where House of Arras is based), Coal River Valley, the East Coast, Huon Valley, Derwent Valley, and Devonport. Offering a patchwork of soils, aspects and climatic conditions, each vineyard contributes unique characters to the final blend. Ed saw earlier than others the potential for sparkling wine in Tasmania, as the cool climate yields vibrant, acid-driven fruit that is perfectly suited for secondary fermentation and, crucially, extensive lees-ageing. Ed is a proponent of lengthy triage, much to the horror of his accountants, insisting on lees-ageing his vintage wines for at least six years before disgorgement. As a result, the Arras sparkling wines display great depth and complexity.

‘A by Arras’ NV is a blend of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier, and is lees aged for 30 months before disgorgement. This ageing period is considerably shorter than the Arras norm and offers a lighter interpretation of Ed’s distinctive style. `A` By Arras is made from select parcels of premium fruit from vineyards throughout the renowned cold climate sub regions of the Tasmanian Coast: Pipers River, Derwent Valley and the Tamar Valley. The vines are trained using vertical shoot positioning and they are exposed to long summer daylight and maritime influences. This ensures the ideal conditions for long, slow and consistent fruit development, resulting in quality sparkling wine grapes that produce wines with the greatest elegance, finesse and complexity.

"Fresh, exuberant and bursting with energy. Broad aromatics: nutty notes, hay and blossom. Complimented by sour lemon and lime, with apples and pears on the palate. Excellent length and concentration, creamy with a luscious, bright aftertaste. Superb!"
IWSC 91/100 Points

Tasting Notes:
Medium straw in colour with a bright gold hue, this wine has a complex and inviting nose with nuances of forest floor, nougat, exotic spice and lanolin. The palate has opulent flavours reminiscent of lychee, butter sautéed mushroom, natural yoghurt and fresh oyster. This elegantly structured wine has a fantastic balance of freshness with persistence and depth of flavour.

Food Pairing:
Fresh seafood such as oysters, grilled scallops, prawns. Its high acidity and brioche notes also complement fried chicken, cured meats, and soft cheeses, making it an excellent, refreshing choice.