2017 Deviation Road Beltana Blanc de Blancs

95 POINTS

Erin Larkin - Wine Advocate

The 2017 Beltana Blanc de Blancs hails from a cool, wet season and leads with white pineapple husk, melted butter on toasted sourdough, jasmine tea, a hint of dehydrated blood orange, cumin and white pepper, shaved fennel and brine. It is long, undulating and incredibly complex. The residual sugar in this season was six grams per liter, and this sits well within the confines of the wine. It is sleek, textural and fine, which sums up Kate Laurie's style. This is very good. 12.5% alcohol, sealed under Diam cork.

95 POINTS

Campbell Mattinson - The Wine Front

Six years on lees is a fair investment of time in anyone’s language but, most especially, for a small producer. Deviation Road’s Beltana Blanc de Blancs is one of the best sparkling wines in the country though it doesn’t often get the recognition that it deserves. We haven’t seen this wine at Winefront overly often but there’s no question, over the past decade, that it’s put some stunning wines into the vault. Something like 150 dozen of this are produced each year. I spoke with winemaker Kate Laurie this week and tasted through a range of back vintages. It was a wide-ranging discussion but one comment of hers that stood out was: “Here I am taking the best fruit in the hills and doing my best to preserve that fruit, it’s not about winemaking.” This wine presents a fresh face to the world but does so in complex style, and with a keen eye to elegance. It’s a wine that just seems to know what it’s doing, and what it’s about. Its profile is both steely and briney, though it’s distinguished by lines of grilled peaches, grapefruit and kaffir lime. There’s almost a slatey aspect to this, and hints of strawberry, though the strawberry notes quickly morph into delicious, roasted, candied nut flavours. A fragrance of herbs, fresh herbs, hovers, as do orange-like notes, orange blossoms even. This is a beautiful sparkling wine, masterfully balanced, poised on a pinhead.

94 POINTS

Mike Bennie - Halliday's Wine Companion

Disgorged Nov ’23. This wine spends six years on lees and holds six grams dosage. A richer, toastier expression that holds all its elements in harmony and with complexity. Scents of brioche, lemon curd, sugared almonds, green apple and candied orange peel. The palate is generous, soft and struck with vibrant bubbles, a little minerally/saline amongst green apple, honey toast, more lemon curd and a tickle of piquant ginger. A briny line of acidity keeps things fresh and elevated. Delightful drinking here with a myriad of detail.