Don't miss out on our sparkling scoop of the year
The Tyrrell's Pinot Noir Chardonnay Brut is a wine that comes with an interesting history, the genesis of which was a trip to Europe by Murray Tyrrell in 1977. It's a wine conceived with soaring ambitions. Murray's son, Bruce Tyrrell, recounts the story where "a stop was made at the Bollinger press-house where dad traded his expertise on how to best use a press for some time spent with their winemakers. The next day he called me with instructions to buy all the pinot noir grapes on light soils in the Hunter Valley. He reckoned he could make champagne as good as the French did". Initially, in a move which reflected Bollinger's most exclusive champagnes (la Cote aux Enfants and Vieilles Vignes Francaises, which, being 100% pinot noirs, are "blanc de noirs"), the Tyrrells Brut was made entirely from pinot noir. Nowadays, while the style is still predominantly (80%) pinot noir, small amounts of chardonnay, semillon and pinot meuniere have been added in order to "lift" the palate and add acidity. The nett result is a rich flavoursome wine which still retains crispness and a good balance of yeasty
bread-like characters. It goes down a treat - both as an aperitif or as an accompaniment to food. Normally, this boutique wine comes with a premium price (John Lewis from the Newcastle Herald quotes $41). If you take the time, however, to visit the vineyard, you can get some of the 2011 vintage at the cellar-door for $30 a bottle. However, as a result of us catching Bruce at a particularly exuberant moment, we can give you a pretty much unbeatable opportunity to taste this high quality vintage Australian brut for yourself. We'll give it to you for the cellar door price and... for every 6 bottles, we'll give you another 6 bottles for free - this equates to only $15 a bottle. We suggest you don't miss out