Rare Grower* Sparkling Wines for Special Occasions
There is something wonderfully indulgent about opening a rare bottle of Australian Grower sparkling wine when there is something worth celebrating. A wedding, a birthday, a long weekend, or simply the pleasure of gathering with people you love. And as spring arrives in Tasmania and the southern states, the season of celebration begins.
In Australia, we traditionally welcome spring on 1 September. Yet, if we follow the biodynamic calendar, spring arrives a little later. According to Brian Keats’ Antipodean Astro Calendar, the Spring Equinox falls on 23 September 2026 at 10:05AM, when the Sun crosses the Equator.
The calendar fills quickly with celebrations, then comes December, with Christmas and New Year. Followed by January holidays, parties and precious opportunities to catch up with family and friends. And what better way to mark those moments than with a truly special sparkling wine from acclaimed and respected Stefano Lubiana.
2015 Grande Vintage Brut
The 2015 Grande Vintage Brut is all about texture and refinement. Made only in exceptional vintages, this wine is Stefano’s benchmark, striving to make this wine every year if the conditions allow and the precision is there.
In the glass, it presents a beautiful golden-straw hue, with an elegant mousse and exceptionally fine beads. The first impression on the nose is bright and lifted. Lemon rind oil and citrus zest followed by layers of honey and leesy complexity. Then comes the texture of buttered brioche, roasted pecan, a delicate richness and a beautifully dry finish framed by elegant tannins.
This is sparkling wine for those who appreciate nuance. It rewards attention and, given its vintage character, feels particularly suited to a celebration where the wine itself becomes part of the occasion.
2017 Blanc de Blancs
Micro-production 2017 Blanc de Blancs is made in the Blanc de Blancs tradition, it offers the kind of elegance and precision that makes this style such a favourite among serious sparkling wine lovers.
Pale yellow in appearance the wine is harmonious laden with notes of lemon custard, lemon curd and spiced ginger with a backbone of chalk. The extensive time on lees develops a toasty and mature palate with unfurling notes of almond pastry and French desserts such as crème brûlée. The Blanc de Blancs is a wine to bring out when the occasion calls for something exceptional, when an ordinary bottle simply won't do.
2020 Brut Rosé
The 2020 Brut Rosé is a very small production of 1,700 bottles. The last vintage of this wine was produced in 2017, and disgorged in 2023. The 2020 Rosé Brut is a beautiful time capsule of its vintage, capturing the character of a cooler-than-average and lower-yielding 2020 spring and summer growing season.
Its colour is stunning, an elegant pink hue leaning. On the nose, it is complex, with yeasty notes accompanied by hints of sherry, fresh plum and red apple skin. On the palate, the cooler vintage reveals itself through firmer tannins and a drier, more complex character than our Brut Reserve, which leans towards the softer, more indulgent flavours of strawberries, cranberries and poached quince. This is a serious rosé for the sparkling connoisseur. This Rosé is winemaker Marco’s favourite, a bottle to savour slowly rather than simply pour.
There are six Stefano Lubiana Méthode Traditionelle wines to choose from, but the rarest bottles play a different role. They become part of the memory. For lovers of fine, sustainable, biodynamic and beautifully crafted sparkling wine, these are bottles worth seeking out and saving for the moments that matter.
Because some occasions deserve more than a toast, sometimes deserving of a bottle you will remember. Think ahead and have a bottle or 2 chilled, and ready to enjoy!
*Grower means we grew the grapes and made the sparkling wine onsite, tiraged and degorged. We do not buy fruit from other growers. French Grower Champagne winemakers write RM on their labels to signal this to their customers.*