Sparkling specialist Henskens Rankin of Tasmania comprises Frieda Henskens, David Rankin and their family. The house was founded in 2010 with the aim of exploring mature, artisanal styles of sparkling wine. Their flagship is the Vintage Brut (limited releases of 2500 bottles), a multi-vineyard blend, which spent 8 years on yeast lees. The Blanc de Blancs and Rosé spent almost 8 years on lees, equally limited and equally layered and extraordinarily complex.
Frieda makes the wines in tiny batches, typically fermented, pied de cuve with wild yeast in barrels, they may also undergo wild malolactic fermentation, be tiraged with wild yeast and /or tiraged with grape juice or residual grape sugar. The commitment to exploration means that an array of new wines, employing a range of techniques will always be in the offing.
“One of the most important winemakers to me when I visited Champagne while doing my master’s degree in 2011 was Eric Rodez. He told me, ‘Every vintage, do crazy things …carefully.’
I guess that’s what we’re doing.” – Frieda Henskens.
These wines are extraordinary. It took almost a decade to achieve their first release, starting with their first in January 2019…of the 2010 Vintage Brut. This wine was awarded Champion Wine of Show at the Tasmanian Wine Show in Hobart. The wine also picked up the trophy for best late-disgorged sparkling.
2014 Henskens Rankin Vintage Brut
“This is 70% chardonnay, 30% pinot noir sourced from the Coal River Valley and Tasman Peninsula. Eight years on lees, disgorged 12 August 2022, dosage 2g/L.
Light straw with a fine bead and characters of green and red apple, lemon and peach, with hints of shortbread biscuits, freshly baked brioche, lemon curd, tarte Tatin, soft spice, Le Dauphin cheese, vanilla, soft spice and sweet almond meal. Expansive with plenty of biscuity tones and complexity, along with fine, lacy mineral drive, finishing long and moreish.”
95pts
Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion