House of Arras

Written By Campbell Mattinson

House of Arras is a Mattinson 10-Star Winery — Campbell Mattinson's highest honour.
Tasmania.

The House of Arras is a great producer of sparkling wine, both in the context of Australia and of the world. It is Australia’s most awarded sparkling wine producer, for good reason.

The case.

For the past thirty years the House of Arras chief winemaker, Ed Carr has made steadfastly sure that Arras is a wine name guaranteed to inspire both trust and joy. The House of Arras was raised by the Hardy wine company, continued by iterations of the Accolade wine group, and purchased more recently by Handpicked Wines. In the face of hope, excitement, investment, change and uncertainty the House of Arras sparkling wines have never wavered, and have never been anything other than superb. The House of Arras is a champion of Tasmania, and of wine, and of the miracle that is sparkling wine.

The success of the House of Arras, other than Ed Carr’s astute guidance, is the quality of its Tasmanian fruit sources and selection; its long ageing (commonly aged for 8-9 years prior to release; 2017 is the current vintage of House of Arras Grange Vintage in 2026); and its low dosage (2-ish grams, typically).

Last year this site published a feature on the [House of Arras: Ed Carr, Finally Unshackled]. To quote from this article: “The House of Arras is not just Australian sparkling royalty. When we drink the House of Arras we drink Australian sparkling wine history – fresh, real, alive and magnificent – as it is being made. The House of Arras is the very definition of respected.”

The wines that carry the case.

House of Arras Grand Vintage 2016 (Tasmania): It has spread, it has drive, it has nuance and it just out and out delivers.
House of Arras Late Disgorged 2009 (Tasmania): Winefront.
House of Arras Late Disgorged 2006 (Tasmania): Winefront.
House of Arras Late Disgorged 2004 (Tasmania): Winefront.

—
There are forty-five House of Arras sparkling wines reviewed on The Winefront site.

House of Arras is a Mattinson 10-Star Winery – the highest honour awarded by Australian wine critic Campbell Mattinson. 10-Star status recognises one thing: the quality of the wine in the glass, every glass, across the range. The full list of 10-Star Wineries constitutes Australia's Best Wineries.

Campbell Mattinson

This post was written by Campbell Mattinson. Mattinson is a former chief editor of the Halliday Wine Companion book, former editor of Halliday magazine, former editor of Australian Sommelier Magazine and founder of The Winefront business. He is the author of five books on wine – four of which were bestsellers (The Wine Hunter, the Big Red Wine Book 2008, the Big Red Wine Book 2009, and the Big Red Wine Book 2010).

Mattinson is also the founder of the Mattinson Photography business.

Campbell Mattinson has been an independent journalist, wine critic and photographer for forty years. He’s the only Australian to have won the Australian Wine Communicator of the Year Award more than once. He’s a past winner of a Louis Roederer International Wine Media Award; is the author of the award-winning book The Wine Hunter; and is the author of the best-selling novel We Were Not Men. He’s also a winner of a St Kilda Film Festival Award (as writer-director) and is a former winner of the national Best Australian Sports Writing Award. In 2026 three of his photographs were short-listed for the World Food Photography Awards.

Campbell Mattinson, who is 100% independent, has tasted between 5000 and 10,000 wines each and every year for the past 25 years. He tastes blind, in comparative brackets, as often as is practicable.

Campbell Mattinson is a journalist, a photographer, a filmmaker and a wine critic. In all of these mediums his prime motive is to tell people's stories.

https://www.campbellmattinson.com
Previous

By Farr
Next

Bekkers