Top Gun
Marco Lubiana is a man of few words. Relaxed and easy-going when it comes to conversation, the talented Tasmanian winemaker is never more forthright and articulate than when he's talking about food and wine, friends and family. It's a different matter entirely when it comes to labelling and packaging his beautifully crafted Huon Valley wines.
The text is minimalist and functional. Simply the bare essentials he's required to provide according to Australian Government regulation.
That comes as no surprise to those that are familiar with the 28-year-old who makes these critically acclaimed wines from Lucille Vineyard. Each Chardonnay and Pinot Noir released to date speaks clearly of its classic variety and its cool climate origins – the Lubiana family's 10ha vineyard site at Cradoc, south of Hobart.
The Granton-born son of winemakers Monique and Steve Lubiana likes it that way. Indeed, he'd much rather his wines did all of the talking. Everything else is almost superfluous.
Barely a week has gone by since Lubiana was named the 2024 Young Gun of Wine. His mind is already on other things. A day or so of biodynamic prep-making. A little winery work and website tweaking. Completion of winter pruning.
He's not one for seeking the limelight or basking too long in personal or professional achievement. That's part of the genetic makeup of the entire Lubiana family. It's not just wine that's in their blood.
"We're really sixth and seventh generation family farmers," Steve Lubiana says, pictured above with Marco.
Established in 2007 by leading Melbourne wine communicator Rory Kent, the annual Young Gun of Wine Awards are intended to promote Australian wine labels and winemakers on the rise.
Marco Lubiana first caught the attention of award organisers three years ago when he was included among the 2021 list of Top 50 Winemakers. Three other Tasmanians were also named as award contenders – Max Marriott (Anim Wine), Luke Monks (Made by Monks) and Greer Carland (Quiet Mutiny).
"These are winemakers that really have something to say and have a claim to stake on the Australian wine landscape," Kent observed.
Lubiana went on to win Best New Act.
He might have had good reason to believe he'd be among the 2021 winners. Fellow Huon Valley winemaker Jim Chatto was a finalist in the inaugural 2007 awards.
"There's a unique character in Huon Valley wines that I don't really see in many other wines," Lubiana says.
Young Gun of Wine judging panels see it too, evidently.
Lubiana was short-listed as a 2022 Finalist and went on to be named 2022 Vigneron.
According to event organisers, 'The Vigneron is an award which celebrates makers that also lovingly tend to the land and the vines that they make wine from.'
It fits the Marco Lubiana narrative perfectly.
He describes his winemaking as hands-off and non-interventionist.
"You can see more of the vineyard terroir in my wines. The winemakers' job is basically to preserve and project the uniqueness of that fruit. To get it into the bottle with as little impact as possible. It's about letting the wine speak of the place instead of forcing it into being something that's not authentic and truthful."
National recognition and industry success have come quickly to the young Lubiana. It's been less than six years since the former University of Adelaide student completed his formal winemaking studies and returned to the family's Derwent Valley home base.
The first wines produced under the Marco Lubiana label were released in August 2020. They comprised a pigeon pair of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wines from the excellent 2018 vintage in the Huon Valley.
"Both wines were sourced from low-yielding, estate-grown vines that were at least 20 years old," Lubiana explains.
"Lucille is the oldest vineyard in the Huon Valley. It was originally called Panorama Vineyard and was first planted by (the late) Steve Ferencz in 1973. When the Vishacki family bought it in 1995, more Chardonnay and Pinot Noir were added two years later. After my parents purchased the vineyard and winery in 2016, we put a huge amount of time and effort into re-working the site.
"In some cases that meant pulling out vines and re-planting. Others were grafted over to clonal selections much better suited to table wine production from our soil and ultra-cool climate. We've also introduced biodynamic vineyard management. The site is currently in conversion. We're expecting it to be certified biodynamic during the year."
The 40-year-old vineyard may have been re-invigorated and given a new lease of life by the Lubiana family but some challenges will always be difficult to overcome. Lucille was one of many vineyards in the Huon Valley and nearby D'Entrecasteaux Channel that were forced to abandon plans for their 2019 harvests due to the total loss of wine grapes that season.
"A really bad bushfire season in the south of the State caused all of our fruit to get smoked out," Lubiana explains.
"No-one likes drinking smoke-tainted wines, so we were forced to leave our fruit in the vineyard. We couldn't pick any of it for winemaking.
"The following vintage was also pretty challenging. It was very cool during summer and we had to wait quite a few weeks before our fruit was finally ripe. The wines ended up being a little lighter than those from 2018 but they're still very drinkable. It was a pretty good result considering it was a very late and nerve-wracking season."
Four years on sees Lubiana casting his wine net into the Derwent Valley as well as the Huon.
It would be easy to say there's no place like home, but the Lubiana family's Granton site has always been a great performing site, most especially during cool, challenging seasons like 2021.
Its geographic location - above the river - endows the vineyard with free-draining gravelly soils. This precious earth found its home there as a result of erosion and the build-up of river deposits over millions of years. Gravelly soils have the effect of trapping heat in the vineyard. Its gentle riverbank elevation and northern aspect also increase heat accumulation while favouring cold air drainage from the property.
That noted, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir table wines are likely to remain the heart and soul of the extraordinarily successful Marco Lubiana portfolio.
"I don't want to extend myself to doing other wine styles because I wouldn't pull that off anywhere near as well," Lubiana admits.
"I want to just focus on these two wines because I love them. That's why I put so much time and effort into them. Besides, I'm too busy working in the vineyard to worry about making any other wines!"
Last page update: 26 May 2026