PETER LEHMANN Black Queen Sparkling Shiraz, Barossa Valley

House of Arras sounds French and it would be easy to mistake this Brut Elite for a NV Champagne. Arras winemaker Ed Carr has spent the last 15 years on a quest to produce a world class sparkling. With this wine, we considered it mission accomplished! Vanilla, nougat and exotic spices on the nose, followed by a palate bursting with lychee, truffle and cinnamon flavours, this is a complex, elegant wine. Australian sparkling has come a long way in the past decade, but this is a wine that really excites us.

The nose of this elegant wine exhibits fresh dough and lemon zest aromas intermixing with strawberry and vanillin nuances. The palate is full of fresh berry, sorbet and Granny Smith apple flavours. It tastes excellent with Tassie oysters in crispy Tempura batter.

Pale straw in colour. Aromas of apples and citrus along with a bready note. Refreshing acidity adds drive to a generous mid-palate with an everlasting long finish.

A pale straw colour with vivid green hues. Gunflint, almond and lemon zest characterise the aroma. The wine has a steely edged structure and the mid-palate is filled with white peach and oyster-shell flavours. It draws into a long, spicy finish.

A lovely and unusual Sauvignon Blanc from Hawkes Bay. It is barrel-fermented with a touch of Semillon and Sauvignon Gris. This wine has aromas of citrus blossom, pear and stone fruit and will evolve in the bottle for five years from harvest.

The Chardonnay grapes used to create Vintage Blanc de Blancs were picked, pressed and then fermented to retain intense fruit flavours. The resulting wine shows a bright straw colour with light green highlights and a beautiful bead. The fragrant bouquet is perfumed with lovely aromas of cream and peaches, with light suggestions of citrus and honeysuckle. The elegant palate is filled with peachy flavours and zesty lemon acidity, offering a silky mouthfeel and a clean finish. This lighter bodied Blanc de Blancs tastes excellent with sashimi, sushi, and foie gras terrine.