You cannot escape the spectre of Champagne in any discussion on sparkling wine. All sparkling wine is compared to and benchmarked by Champagne and the highest possible praise you can ascribe to a sparkling wine is to reference your favourite Champagne. Tasting Emenence’s 2 sparkling wines, the first, all chardonnay and the second from 60% pinot noir and 40%pinot meunier I was struck by their ravishing purity and finessed exuberence, and all from a wine region that is the highest in Victoria, 12kms long and has just over 400 acres under vine. In contrast, Champagne is 300kms from north to south, has 85000 acres of vineyard and produces around 300 million bottles every year.
Eminece is a grower of grapes, their vineyard rooted at 841m, the highest in Victoria. Loamy soils ensure drainage, and great heatr retention, but also water and nutrient capacity. Marginal in the extreme and very wet, I like to think that it’s at these extremes, any extyreme to be sure, where many great and distinct wines are made. The sparklings here are essentially from a single vineyard, so philisophically they are closer to grower Champagnes and not the regional blends of the big houses.
Lets just think about that comparison to grower Champagne for a moment. Established reputation, demand, markets, logistics, process and know how, combined with what is usually inherited vineyards and infrastuture to create the world’s most exobitantly priced sparkling wines. Many of the most famous examples fetishise their site, taking them to extremes that make for interesting wine geek conversations, but their price and the extremism of style make for searing, painful andunafforadble and unbalanced drinking.
The sparklings of Eminence are made simply. Handpicked, whole bunch pressed to neutral barrels where they complete primary and in some cases malolactic fermentation. Aged in barrell for 11 months, on gross lees before blending and preperation for the second ferment. The second ferment is of course in bottle and in the case of Assembly Blanc de Blancs and Blanc de Noirs, a number of disgorments. The latest disgorment of the 2022s was in early 2026 spending 4 years resting on lees and they are in an aboloute spot of perfection. Long lees ageing is like a bit like long barrel aging; it’s a question of style preference and if the base materials can stand up to the process and improve by it. They are bottled without dosage, a philisophical postion taken by the producer as they wish to present the wine with as little artifact as possible. I don’t hold to this view myself, dosage if used, is a balancing tool and lengthens the palate, but here it is certainly not required. Ravishing, silky and pure with a clarity, freshness, muscularity and grace
Grown at 841 metres – Victoria’s highest vineyard – this 100% Chardonnay is elevated in every sense. Beautifully fragrant, the aromas feel almost meticulously arranged in their purity and delineation: lemon, apple strudel, white flowers and ginger, with hints of Victoria plum and cherry.
Fine and silky on the palate, the mousse is soft yet exuberant, woven through with a firm seam of acidity. That brightness initially masks the wine’s depth, but a few gentle swirls reveal layers of white peach, citrus, brioche, fresh apple and orange zest, all held in tension by mineral drive, subtle tannin and a saline twist. Serious, structured and playful in equal measure, it’s as contemplative as you want it to be. Utterly convincing and unforced – one of the finest sparkling Chardonnays at this price point, and well beyond, in Australia.
A 60/40 blend of Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, this is pure, lifted and quietly powerful. The fruit sits on the darker side – blackberry, gooseberry, plum and wild strawberry – layered with baking spice, biscuit and a savoury hint of baked rosemary. There’s real muscle here, but it’s precisely shaped – chiselled with curve and cut. Exuberant and ravishing, the darker fruit profile somehow reads as fresher, brighter, with greater clarity of structure and volume.
It carries a kind of weightless power: never broad or heavy, just graceful, pure and endlessly drinkable. Like the Blanc de Blancs, it’s compelling on its own, though it comfortably steps up to the table – scotch fillet works beautifully, but porchetta is a particularly memorable match. Unbelievable value. The quality is exceptional.
