Strelley Farm Estate Tasmania Pét-Nat Rosé NV

Hold on to your hat. This delightful, gently sparkling wine is comprised of not one or two, but five grape varieties: Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Gewürztraminer. That’s a busy blend for sure, but it works a treat. Pét-Nat tends to write its own rules. This is right up its alley. With so many personalities joined by the bubble here, the result is the kind of individuality which works so well with the petillant naturel (Pét-Nat) style, bringing a taste of the exotic and filling the mouth with a plush, textural appeal, not to mention flavour. Colour is a smoky pink-salmon. Aromatics are lifted and lively in rose petal, cranberry, cherry, mango and riveting spice. On the palate, the small but essential role of Gewürztraminer’s spice has to be noted in elevating a sense of the exotic – not to mention Sauvignon’s touch of herbal intrigue – alongside warm tropical fruit and berry notes. The gentle, fine bubble caps off a delicious sparkling. So many Pét-Nats tend towards the bland. This isn’t one of them.

Jeni Port

Wine critic at Winepilot

Jeni Port is one of Australia’s top wine communicators. Based in Melbourne, Jeni created the first wine column in the (then) Sun News-Pictorial before moving over to The Age and becoming that paper’s longest-serving wine writer. Over the years she has written for most Australian wine magazines and these days calls WinePilot home. She is also a Tasting Panel member on the Halliday Wine Companion. She was named Wine Communicator of the Year and Legend of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival in 2014 and in 2018 Legend of the Vine. She is a founding board member of Australian Women In Wine and is the co-deputy chair of Australia’s Wine List of the Year Awards and China’s Wine List of the Year Awards.

Wine writer and critic