United by Obsession
When Marty and Lisa Smith first established vines at their Cranbrook property on Tasmania's East Coast, Malbec seemed something of an oddball choice to plant alongside the usual industry suspects, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
The young bloke spent his formative years at Lebrina's Clover Hill Vineyard back in the 1990s and might have been expected to grow a little bit of Pinot Meunier for sparkling wine production.
But Smith had a bee in his bonnet about little known and loved Malbec. He'd developed a fondness for it after moving to South Australia in 2009 and working at Bleasdale Vineyards while studying viticulture at Charles Sturt University.
He stayed almost four years with the Langhorne Creek operation. Along with Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec was one of its core varieties. Indeed, the Potts family at Bleasdale had even produced the region's first single varietal Malbec way back in 1961.
"Bleasdale were the biggest producers of Malbec in Australia, so I learned a lot about it very quickly," Smith recalls.
"It really doesn't like the heat, but it doesn't like the cold either. Or the wind. In fact, it doesn't like a lot of things. But when you get everything right, it's pretty special. Malbec grows well in Bordeaux – that has a maritime climate – so we thought it could do well here on the East Coast.
"It was a matter of giving it a try."
Nowadays co-owner and operator of Absolute Viticulture with his wife Lisa, he can tell you all you need to know about Malbec in Australia. Chapter and verse.
The big bold red has also become something of a mainstay in the wine industry of modern-day Argentina. Conversely, it's almost a museum piece outside small parts of France's Cahors and Loire Valley regions.
It's likely Malbec first came to Australia in 1832, one of numerous vine selections imported into the country by industry pioneer James Busby.
By 1857, the variety had even travelled to Tasmania. 'Malbeck' appears among the 29 grape varieties listed in the first Catalogue of Plants compiled for the Port Arthur Government Gardens. The site's exotic garden collection was established at the infamous convict station in 1846.
Early plantings in Victoria at Best's Great Western were believed to be Malbec until the variety was correctly identified as Dolcetto in the 20th century.
The Smiths have no doubts about their planting material. Their vineyard site on Glen Gala Road holds 0.4ha of the MAT 3 clone, a certified selection imported into Australia in the early 2000s by Victoria's Chalmers Nursery.
Also referred to as Malbec 80 Argentina, its viticultural credentials were carefully researched by Italy's highly-respected Matura Group.
That noted, Smith's Malbec mania in present-day Tasmania has two antecedents.
Bob and Rita Richter first planted the variety at Grey Sands Vineyard in the Tamar Valley in 2005. The couple made slow but steady progress with it, eventually producing an excellent red blend called The Mattock in 2012.
Their 2015 Grey Sands 'The Mattock' was listed among Winestate Magazine's Best Wines of 2020.
"Bob and Rita have had pretty good success with it, and so have Steve and Monique Lubiana with their plantings in the Derwent Valley," Smith adds.
Malbec was added to Granton Vineyard in 2011. The new Lubiana developments were initially harvested to support a Merlot Malbec blend designated as Chicane. Increased production volumes enabled a single varietal Stefano Lubiana Malbec in vintage 2018.
"An exceptional wine wherever grown and made – but Tasmania? Malbec?" wrote the inimitable James Halliday.
"This is extraordinary."
Smith says Cranbrook is lean and rocky country when compared with the Derwent and Tamar Valleys. Its shallow loams sit on top of very patchy ironstone substrata and weathered sediments.
The vineyard's inland location plays to Malbec's advantage by offering growing conditions with a strong diurnal range – warm, sunlit days and very cool summer nights. These work in unison to promote intense aroma and flavour development while ensuring the fruit is able to retain vital natural acidity as optimum ripeness approaches.
Vines are carefully managed to produce modest yields of intensely flavoured wine grapes.
The couple's very successful Obsessionist label bears witness to that.
Their crackerjack inaugural release from the 2021 vintage won a silver medal at the 2023 National Cool Climate Wine Show, the second-highest pointed wine in the event's single red varieties class.
The low-yielding 2022 vintage was judged top gold and winner of the Trophy for Best Alternative Red Wine at the 2024 Australian Single Vineyard Wine Show.
The current release 2024 Obsessionist Malbec ($60) was one of only two gold medal wines in its class at the 2025 Melbourne Royal Wine Awards.
A panel brought together by the Young Gun of Wine for an Australian Malbec varietal wine tasting last October described the same release as 'a knockout… Plush and silky, but with real structure underneath.'
Marty and Lisa Smith not only share an obsession for Malbec, they periodically team up with other obsessives to celebrate the food, wine and lifestyle of Tasmania's East Coast.
In October 2025, they joined forces with historic Twamley Farm to create a pop-up cellar door at Buckland's St John the Baptist Church during the Great Eastern Wine Week. This year, they're doing something similar.
Like many old churches in Australia, the Buckland landmark saw declining numbers at its services in the early 2000s. Members of the local community were determined to save the heritage-listed church, which was consecrated in 1850.
In December 2022, the Friends of the Buckland Church Inc (FOBC) formally took ownership of the property and its adjacent cemetery from the Anglican Diocese of Tasmania.
The group now works tirelessly to preserve and revitalise the church so that it can continue as a vibrant and valuable community asset for locals and visitors alike to enjoy into the future.
FOBC is entirely responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the church, its grounds and nearby graveyards. All that comes with significant costs.
This month's United by Obsession dinner is the FOBC's major fundraising event for 2026. The group spent $30,000 on last year's restoration and conservation work.
Built in the Gothic Revival style during the 1840s, Buckland's St John the Baptist became one of Tasmania's most distinctive early churches.
When its first minister – the young Rev Frederick Cox – finally saw the church was finished, he boldly declared it 'the most church-like church in the island.'
Almost two centuries later, visitors to the site continue to be awestruck by the elegance and simplicity of the sandstone structure.
Among the church's key attractions are its stained-glass windows, one of which graphically depicts John the Baptist's head being served on a platter after his death had been ordered by King Herod.
Renowned East Coast chef Zac Green – formerly Waterloo Inn Swansea and Melbourne's Movida – will bring United by Obsession alive by showcasing Tasmanian produce through a specially curated menu. Each course will be accompanied exclusively by Obsessionist wines, bringing food and wine together in the event's generous celebration of place.
In addition to its historic long table setting, the evening's stylish dining experiences are all set to be enhanced by soft candlelight and live music performed by The Tangara Quartet and renowned harpist Blythe Singer.
Tasmanian-based architectural historian Warwick Oakman will speak on the historical significance of the church and its long associations with the region as well as the immediate Buckland community.
An extraordinary collection of historic chattels – from original furnishings to rare artefacts – will offer the audience a tangible connection to 19th-century colonial life in Tasmania.
Guests will then be ushered by lantern bearers to the Buckland Hall to experience their seated dining experience. United by Obsession.
A silent auction being conducted on the night will raise additional funds for the restoration and preservation of the site, including ongoing repairs to the stone wall and flooring of the church.
A free bus service from Hobart and return is being provided for participants wishing to avoid driving themselves.
United by Obsession
Details in brief:
When: Great Eastern Wine Week 22-25 October 2026
Date: Saturday 24 October
Venue: Buckland Church, Tasman Highway, Buckland.
Times: 6:00pm – 10:00pm
Cost: $325 per person
Dress code: Cocktail attire
Menu and wines: Chef Zac Green and Obsessionist Wines, Cranbrook
Event enquiries: 0439 114 996
United by Obsession is proudly supported by the National Trust Tasmania.
Tickets here
Great Eastern Wine Week 2026 program here
Obsessionist Pop-up Cellar Door
Lisa and Marty Smith will host a free Obsessionist pop-up cellar door on their vineyard at Cranbrook on Sunday 25 October 2026.
Venue: 110 Glen Gala Road, Cranbrook
Times: 11:00am – 3:00pm
Last page update: 4 October 2026