Tasmanian sparkling winery House of Arras has joined an elite group of Australian winemakers, securing the nation’s first 100-point rating for a sparkling wine from the world’s most influential wine review platform, Robert Parker Wine Advocate. 

The House of Arras E.J. Carr Late Disgorged 1998 Magnum received the score and review by wine critic Erin Larkin, who said: “It is necessary for me to sit back and consider all the great Champagne prestige cuvées I have tasted from this vintage in either the northern or southern hemispheres, and I cannot bring to mind a better example.”

House of Arras is the first Australian sparkling wine producer to receive the perfect 100-point rating from the US-based platform, and the first sparkling wine outside of France’s Champagne region to achieve the score.

House of Arras joins 11 other notable Australian wineries to achieve a perfect rating from the review platform, including well-known producers Torbreck, Clarendon Hills, Penfolds, Giaconda, S.C. Pannell and Seppeltfield.

“It’s such a huge honour for House of Arras to be recognised amongst such a prestigious and select few Australian producers with a perfect rating from Wine Advocate,” said House of Arras Chief Winemaker Ed Carr (above). 

“Robert Parker is widely known across the industry to be the world’s most influential and respected wine critic, and to have House of Arras join the echelons of the highest possible rating by the Wine Advocate is a definitive moment for the Tasmanian sparkling wine category.” 

The House of Arras E.J. Carr Late Disgorged represents the pinnacle of sparkling winemaking from the famed Tasmanian producer. The Chardonnay and Pinot Noir fruit for this wine is hand-harvested and crafted via the time-honoured traditional method which included a remarkable 24 years on lees. 

The extended time on lees is a hallmark of the House of Arras style, and results in a wine of immense depth and complexity. The 1998 release is the very first release of the E.J. Carr Late Disgorged, with this magnum being a limited ‘winemaker’s release’, held back on lees in the winemaker’s museum for later disgorgement. Only a rare handful of magnum bottles currently remain in the cellar at House of Arras. 

A release of the House of Arras E.J. Carr Late Disgorged currently available comes from the 2006 vintage and received a near-perfect 98-point rating from the Wine Advocate. This is a special release of the wine, unveiled last year at a 30th anniversary celebration for the winery’s founding. 

“To have our latest Vintage Collection achieve ratings of 95-points and above is very exciting for the team, but equally so, a testament to the work we’ve done in crafting Tasmanian sparkling wines that can be considered among the world’s best representations of sparkling wine,” Carr said.

“Tasmania has a style all its own and we’re honoured that our wines are the flag bearers of setting a new benchmark globally.”

Widely regarded as the global benchmark for independent wine criticism, Robert Parker Wine Advocate has shaped the world of wine and wine critique since its founding in 1978. The publication famously pioneered the 100-point rating system, a standard that remains the industry’s most trusted measure of quality and pedigree. 

While the 1998 E.J. Carr Late Disgorged is in incredibly short supply, the remaining wines in the Arras portfolio of vintage releases are currently available, with scores from the Wine Advocate noted below:

• House of Arras E.J. Carr Late Disgorged 2006 | RRP $330 | 98 points
  • Special 30th Anniversary Release
• House of Arras Museum Release Blanc de Blancs 2006 | RRP $500 | 98 points
• House of Arras Rosé 2017 | RRP $136 | 97 points
• House of Arras E.J. Carr Late Disgorged 2008| RRP $277 | 96 points
• House of Arras Blanc de Blancs 2017| RRP $136 | 96 points
• House of Arras Grand Vintage 2017 | RRP $125 | 95 points

House of Arras wines are available from select fine wine retailers and restaurants, the House of Arras Cellar Door in Pipers River, and from the online cellar door at www.houseofarras.com.au. 

For more information about Robert Parker Wine Advocate, visit www.robertparker.com.