1998 Clover Hill Clover Hill Sparkling Winery: Clover Hill Vintage: 1998 Region: Northern Tasmania Bottle Size: 750ml Variety: Sparkling Price: $65.00 (out of stock)

Clover Hill is the culmination of an ideal - the quest to produce a premium sparkling wine from the New World in the French tradition.
 
The 66 hectare Clover Hill property was selected after an exhaustive search for an optimal cool climate vineyard site. Set on a ridge with views north over Bass Strait and south to the extinct volcano Mount Arthur, the product has further enhanced Taltarni's reputation for quality sparkling wines.
 
One of Tasmania's largest vineyards, with currently twenty hectares planted to the classic Champagne varieties - chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier. The vines are close-spaced (1.1 metres apart with 1.9 metres between rows) and planted on well-drained deep, red volcanic soil in a natural frost-free amphitheatre, orientated north-south to maximise sun exposure. Ironstone rocks, the curse of local farmers, act as heat reservoirs and assist grape ripening.

Typically, budburst occurs in late September, flowering and bunch-set around Christmas and veraison is in mid-March. Vineyard management techniques ensure minimal use of chemical sprays.
 
The first two Clover Hill vintage releases were 100% chardonnay, but since 1994 the blend has evolved to include a substantial proportion of pinot noir and some pinot meunier - the traditional Champagne blend.
 
The picturesque winery was opened in 1996 and vineyard acreages have gradually expanded to meet local and export demand for this prestige sparkling wine.

Since the debut of its 1991 vintage, Clover Hill has impressed both the local and international wine scene with its uncompromising quality and distinguished house style. Previous vintages have collected gold from Adelaide, Perth, Cairns and Hobart wine shows and been awarded trophies from the international show circuit; including the London International Wine & Spirit Competition.

More recently, Clover Hill 1999 was awarded the "Australasian Sparkling Wine of the Year 2004 Trophy" by Winestate Magazine for the second consecutive vintage (read PDF press release). Its predecessor, Clover Hill 1998 also won this prestigious award back in 2002.