The Auswine Forum

Off to Tassie soon - any recommendations for must-visit wineries? We will being starting in Hobart, driving up the east cost to Launceston. Haven't really explored much from Tassie, and don't really know where to go. Will no doubt visit Bay of Fires / Arras and Freycinet.

Domaine A

Hey Dan

Hope you have a great trip mate. Went on a similar one last year..all the tips and notes etc linked below.
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=12727&p=102645&hilit=Tassie+trip#p102645

Enjoy.
Michael

Hi Dan,

New to the forum but have spent a bit of time in southern Tasmania. Stefano Lubiana is my must-visit and has never disappointed. Also enjoyed a visit to Pooley Wines this year and some Domaine A cab (and Pinot) while in the area.

Cheers,
Jarrod

Lubiana
Domaine A
Pooley
Craigow
Josef Chromy (value for money nomination)
Delamere
Bay of Fires (mostly for Arras fizz)

I've a lot of tour notes here and on Cellartracker, over quite some years.
Tasmania has a truly great future.
GG

Thanks all,

With limited time, we are trying to hit:

Domaine A
Lubiana
Freycinet
Bay of Fires / Arras

Am also trying to find bottles of Third Child Benjamin Daniel Pinot (mainly because my brother's name is Benjamin, mine Daniel and my family love wine - I also hear it is pretty good)

If looking for a place for lunch in Launceston, Josef Chromy has one of the nicest settings if the weather is clear.

On the drive down from Bay of Fires to Launceston there is a little grocery store in Windemere which acts as a cellar door for Native Point Wines. If you have 15 mins to spare I can recommend trying their lovely Pinots.

Also would recommend to buy a bottle of Radenti at Freycinet even though it is not on taste. 11-12 years on lees now for the 2001 (if they are still releasing it) and one of Tassie's best.

Moore's Hill is a very underrated vineyard with lovely cellar door staff but it is on the Western side of the Tamar Valley so it sounds like you may not make it down that side with limited time.

GraemeG wrote:Domaine A

Graeme,

A bit surprised you're suggesting Domaine A . From your notes you seem to get the same impression about much of their stuff as I do...Or maybe it is just their Pinot that really makes me cringe...

Then again, if I were in the area I'd probably go check them out...

Tamar Valley:

Go see Julian at Moores Hill. His Rieslings are fkn amazing!
Just down the road from Moores Hill are Mary & Micheal at Velo wines.... GREAT chardonnay

If you like cheese, you cant go past Yondover Farm House Cheese near the Tamar Valley - bit of a off the beaten track kind of deal, but well worth it.

I stayed at Peppers York Coveer in George Town. Great place although sadly the old managers have now left. Dont know what the
new managers are like however the food was amazing......Med-Rare Tassie Rib Eye on the bone.........mmmmmmm

Bay of Fires was pretty good & the views from Pipers Brook / 9th Island were remarkable.

Hobart

Home Hill make a good pinot & have a great restaurant, heemskerk is down there near coal river (not sure if they have a cellar door?)
however now the very talented Heemskerk winemaker (Anna Pooley) is now back at Pooley Wines..........well worth going to see what she has done since moving there (i havent tried any of their wines)

Pooley are in Richmond (about 1/2 hr out of hobart)

Thanks all - who does a good Cabernet? I like my Pinot's, but it is something I can get over pretty quickly if not drinking something else.

dan_smee wrote:Thanks all - who does a good Cabernet? I like my Pinot's, but it is something I can get over pretty quickly if not drinking something else.

Domain A

Polymer wrote:

GraemeG wrote:Domaine A

Graeme,

A bit surprised you're suggesting Domaine A . From your notes you seem to get the same impression about much of their stuff as I do...Or maybe it is just their Pinot that really makes me cringe...

Then again, if I were in the area I'd probably go check them out...

Absolutely always worth visiting; but very careful consideration needed before buying. There are plenty of wineries you could just have a 'fixed-dozen' standing order without much concern; not so Domaine A (not that they make such a offer). I'm slowly coming to the conclusion that they seem to need lots of air before drinking, especially if young. And they are vintage-dependent to an extent unmatched by almost any other Oz domain except perhaps a few Hunter wineries ( and Virgin Hills... )
cheers,
GG

Josef Chromy's Cab is pretty decent too.

9th Island/Piper's Brook was not good at all, I would not waste precious time there unless you enjoy very cheap wine.

I must say I was impressed by Pooley; both the wines and the people.

I find most of the Tasmanian wines grossly over priced for what they are. Not much value to be had.

Freycinet is recommended by me... its a bit of a drive if your based in Hobart, but the national park is very pretty and their wines are great.... second the view to get the Radenti, fabulous bubbles.

Pooley was also a real surprise to me in terms of the quality not being that familiar with Tassie wines.

On Domaine A, I quite like their 2nd label cab the Stoney Rise vineyard, available widely in bottle shops there (and lately on Sydney wine lists!) for about retail $25-30.

Stoney Vineyard.
And they've had a price hike too, with CD prices at $35 now for the cab & pinot.

Pooley's on a roll, no question.

Fizz aside, there aren't big volume producers in Tasmania, so prices aren't going to be as competitive as TWE, Pernod etc, flogging 'brands' though the big chains.
You can add $10 a bottle for sub-$40 wines. So decent drinkable Clare riesling is $15-22, Tas versions are $25-32.
The price difference comes back a bit above that, on average.

Tamar Ridge, Chromy & Bay of Fires sell good pinot at <$40, but nearly everyone else seems is above that for good wine. (9th Island doesn't count).
cheers,
GG

burgster wrote:I must say I was impressed by Pooley; both the wines and the people.

I find most of the Tasmanian wines grossly over priced for what they are. Not much value to be had.

+ 1

Last time I was there (2008), Bay of Fires had a 2002 cab that was really good.

If you are in Tamar region I would recommend Goaty Hill.

Down south of Hobart Home Hill is excellent for a lunch and the wines are good.

In Mersey Valley Barringwood Park, whilst somewhat inconsistent, make good wine.

Hi Dan,

My girlfriend gets a 6 pack of wines from Native Point every 1/4 (I keep her in wine the rest of the time). They're in Swan Bay, near Launceston, and they make some fairly lovely whites - pinot gris, riesling etc - and the ubiquitous pinot noir.

As far as other reds, well there's Domaine A and there's... well... Domaine A. To be honest there must be more, a Tassie shiraz won the Jimmy Watson two years ago and I remember drinking a very early 80s Heemskerk Cab in about 2001 which was rather nice, so if you have a good look around there are sure to be some surprises. If I were you I'd drop into Cloudwine which is a good bottle shop in Hobart and ask them for some recommendations. There is also the Tas Wine Centre in Hobart that's worth a look.

By the way if your looking for a good feed in Hobart try Mee Wah, the food is awesome and the wine list is to die for (the same could be said about Garagiste).

Another thing worth doing is looking up the website of Living Wines. They are based in Hobart and import a large range of 'natural' wine from France. If you can organise a bottle of the Terres Dorees (JP Brun) Morgon you will be well rewarded.

Regardless of the wine, have a great time, particularly on the drive up the East Coast which is superb.

Cheers DD

Josef Chromy is one of my favourite cellar doors anywhere. Even the men's bathroom has a spectacular view (which is a bit off-putting if you don't know that the picture window is one-way glass).

It's also handy to know that the wineries in the Tamar Valley have an arrangement where any winery will pack and post your wines home to you. So you may have been to a few wineries and bought a few bottles at each. When you have a dozen, the winery you bought the last bottles at will send all of the wines to you.

Duncan Disorderly wrote:Hi Dan,

By the way if your looking for a good feed in Hobart try Mee Wah, the food is awesome and the wine list is to die for (the same could be said about Garagiste).

I second the mention of Garagiste... and their associated micro bar (I forget the name of it)... cracking food and cracking wine list... easily the equivalent of all but the absolute top tier of Sydney/Melbourne and without stupid pricing (though not "cheap" obviously)

So, we're back!

The timing of the trip was really a bit disappointing - only around Hobart on weekends, when Domain A etc were closed, and all accom prepaid, so no chance of deviating. What we did manage to do:

Grape Wine Bar:
Piper's Brook 06 Reserve PN
Rockford Riesling 2010
Hently Farm Riesling 2012
Rockford GSM 08 - (I know I wasn't having a Tassie experience here, but you don't see that stuff by the glass in Canberra!)

The on;y wineries we actually got to physically were Joseph Chromy and moorilla (as part of a visit to MONA). Loved Chromy, great range - not buzzed by the Pepik range, but bought up on the 08 PNCB, PN, Dessert riesling and fortified PN. Moorilla was like MONA, all flashy and showy, with no substance. Did not like either.

Pinot Shop in Launceston was awesome too. Proprietor was very helpful, bought up on the Third Child Pinot's (Benjamin Daniel 2011and Benjamin's reserve 2012), Coombend Pinot, Arras 04 GV, Domain A Cab.

Have to report mixed feelings re Tassie wines. Wines made well are exceptionally good, the average stuff is terribly over-rated. Tassie wines of the trip were the Chromy 2010 Pinot and the Piper's Brook Reserve 2006. Wasn't fussed on any riesling I tried, I'll be sticking to SA and Canberra in future.

I was a bit disappointed with the wine in Tasmania as well. I visited Stoney Rise and Holm Oak last year. At Stoney Rise the cellar door experience was very underwhelming with the winemaker seeming disinterested. The chardonnay was nice though, even good enough to convince my wife to buy a bottle (and she *never* drinks chardonnay). The lady at Holm Oak was very hospitable but the wines were a little underwhelming.

We did find a local fruit wine producer in one of the towns we drove through! He was hilarious and the wines were delicious! Bought blueberry, cherry and kirsch. A bit of the cherry wine mixed with some Janz sparkling went down well very nicely.

Having said that it was a bit like my trip to the Hunter, where I found that on the whole I vastly prefer Canberra and SA wines as well.