Stargazer Tasmania Chardonnay 2023

2023 is the third vintage that Stargazer have used both fruit from their own Palisander vineyard in Coal River Valley + sourced from a grower in the Upper Derwent Valley. The Stargazer plot was planted in 2017, south facing and is primarily brown dermosol on Jurassic dolerite. The Derwent Valley vineyard owned by Bernand Brain was planted in 1999 and there are soils white silica sand over sandstone and clay. The site is north-east facing.

Hand picked, whole bunch pressed directly to oak and concrete egg for fermentation. The oak portion represents 80%. Wild ferment in 500L French oak (Mercurey), 20% new. Full malolactic. No lees stirring, left in barrel for 8 months, the blended in tank for 3 months before bottling.

About Stargazer

Stargazer is a boutique, premium producer of some of the most exciting wines coming from Tasmania, predominantly from the Coal River Valley in the southern part of the Island where the range focuses on Riesling, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Our partnership of winemaker + distributor seemed serendipitous after spotting Samantha Connew, owner of Stargazer wearing one of our Francaboutwine’s #doyouevenchablis limited edition T-shirts on her website. Given I had no idea where she got it from at the time as they are not for sale it felt like destiny had a hand :). Most of my team had enjoyed several bottles of Stargazer over the past few years so to have the chance to showcase her work to trade has been an absolute pleasure.

The first vintage under Stargazer was in 2012 and after a long search her dream became a reality in 2016 when she purchased an 11 hectare site in the Coal River Valley, of which 1 hectare was planted with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Since then she has planted 2 more hectares compromising of Riesling, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir with another 2 planned for planting in 2021. Just as well as we simply can’t keep up with the demand for these superb wines and look forward to some exciting years ahead with Samantha as the vines mature enough to be included in the overall range.

Tasmania, Australia

(Image source : Tolpuddle Vineyard)

Tasmania is Australia’s southernmost wine region. Its commercial vineyards date back to 1823, when Bartholomew Broughton planted the first vines. Incidentally, the very first vines in Victoria and South Australia also originated from Tasmania. The Tasmanian wine industry then lay dormant for nearly 100 years due to the gold rush, with commercial winemaking only resuming in the 1950s. After 70 years of development, Tasmania has become synonymous with premium wines, especially Pinot Noir. The island is divided into several sub‑regions—Tamar Valley, Pipers River, Derwent Valley, Coal River Valley, Huon Valley, and the East Coast. Among these, Coal River Valley is the most sought‑after: the winner of the 2024 Australian Pinot Noir Challenge hails from there, as does the highly coveted Tolpuddle Vineyard Pinot Noir. For a Pinot Noir enthusiast, Tasmania Pinot Noir is a not to be overlooked.