Red Bottle Blog

Today I was lucky enough to be invited to release of the new Arras wines at the Hilton, Sydney

This event was presented by Ed Carr – master winemaker, who is Australia’s most awarded sparkling winemaker. Established in 1995, Arras produce some of the finest sparkling wines in Australia. Based in Tasmania, they source the finest fruit from selected vineyard sites in the southern and east coast regions. They believe the key to producing world-class sparkling wines begins in the vineyard, where the cooler climate of Tasmania is imperative.

The event was aimed at comparing Arras against some of the best known French Champagne houses on the market.

All the wines poured were so in disguised bottles (blind). The idea being that you make your own judgements on the wines, before discovering what they were.

The first line up ‘Bracket 1′ consisted of 3 wines.

Wine 1- Aromas of biscuit, and bread with an overall yeasty tone.  The palate was well rounded with a nice texture, creamy and dry to finish. Some lychee character too.

Wine 2 – Aromas of shortbread and floral notes. More mineral than last wine, with subtle yeasty mouth feel. Medium intensity.

Wine 3 - Really toasty aromas, with lots of aromatics. A little thin on the mid palate, but plenty of character.

Results – Wine 1 – Taittinger N.V. Wine 2 - Arras Brut Elite Cuvee 401 Wine 3- Veuve Clicquot N.V.

Overall my favourite was the Taittinger, but the Arras at roughly$50 is about $20 less to buy in retail and is great value. The 401 represents that the majority of the base wine used was from 2004 vintage and the first batch.

Bracket 2

Wine 1 - Very fine bead.  Deep and dense aromas with lots of almond character. Well rounded style, rich and powerful. Lots of nutty characters.  Mouth feel was impressive with an almost bitter sweet dry finish.

Wine 2 - Much more open, floral aromas here with citrus tones. A very approachable style with lots of mineral notes. Lots of life in this one. A little 1 dimensional.

Wine 3 - I noticed this had the largest bead of all 3 arising my suspicions that this might be the Ozzie one.  Great aromas that reminded me of the last 2 wines put together. Although more ‘still wine’ like in character, there were lots of positives here .Yeasty, bready characters dominated. Very drinkable.

Results Wine 1 – Louis Roederer Vintage 2004 Wine 2 - Moet & Chandon Grand Vintage 2003 Wine 3 - Arras Grand Vintage 2003

Overall the most disappointing was the Moet & Chandon. The Roederer was interesting, but I felt needed another 6-12 months to soften out a little. The Arras was impressive and was very complex for a $75 wine. Great looking packaging too.

Bracket 3

Wine 1 - Probably the most aromatic of all the wines tried. The palate was full of surprises every time you tried it. Lots of nutty characters especially almonds. A great acid structure, but you would hardly even feel that there was any acidity in this wine. Remarkably easy to drink.

Wine 2 – I found this one far fruitier on the nose. It hadn’t the same punch as the last one, but there was a great deal of finesse about this wine. Lots of citrus characters that came through after  a second or two on the palate. Lighter style and hard to fault.

Results Wine 1 – Arras E.J. Carr Vintage 1999 Late Disgorged Wine 2 Dom Perignon Vintage 2000

Overall both were a pleasure to try, but at almost $100 less retail price less  the Arras it’s definitely worth seeking out. They have however only made 50 dozen, so you won’t see it everywhere. If you like your sparkling wines with lots of character and  which  evolves by the minute in the glass, then this is the one for you. The Dom Perignon whilst a touch expensive is a very good wine and will aged gracefully.

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