2025 Stargazer Tupelo $38
It's been 10 years since Stargazer winemaker Sam Connew purchased her Palisander Vineyard in the Coal River Valley. (Time flies when you're having fun!)
The 1ha site at Tea Tree was first planted to Riesling and Pinot Noir by the Gangell family back in 2004. Of course, 1ha was never going to be enough to satisfy Connew's plans for handcrafting a distinctive portfolio of her own estate-grown wines.
Major expansions in 2017 and 2021 added 4ha of Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Gamay and Pinot Noir. This release of Stargazer's popular and very successful Tupelo white marks the first time the wine's component parts were largely sourced from Palisander.
(The Alsace-inspired blend is handcrafted from Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Gewürztraminer and Riesling.)
That milestone was not just an aspirational one. The vineyard sits on rugged brown dermosols over Jurassic dolerite. Connew believes the high-calcium earth plays a lead role in producing small bunches of thick-skinned, slow-ripening wine grapes.
Tupelo is the major beneficiary of this latest move towards entirely estate-grown.
The fruit is handpicked and carefully destemmed before the juice is left on its skins for around eight hours prior to pressing. Those skin tannins make valuable contributions to the wine's texture and length of flavour.
Time on lees post-ferment and prior to assemblage adds another quality dimension.
The 2025 vintage's final blend is Pinot Gris dominant (39 percent), with Pinot Blanc (30 percent) also playing a significant role in shaping its palate.
The warm, dry finish to the growing season has endowed the wine with a very attractive flavour profile. Think green melon, lime/citrus with hints of musk and ginger spice. The overall effect is very more-ish. Fine natural acidity keeps the rich fruit nicely in check, while making the wine eminently food-friendly.
Residual sugar is a little over 3g/L, not exactly 'as sweet as Tupelo honey' as Van Morrison would have us believe.
More 'Bright Side of the Road' on my playlist. Good stuff nevertheless.
Source: Retail purchase
Last page update: 11 August 2026