Recently I went to a Téssera Wines ‘pop-up’ cellar door at Lumbr Cafe in Brisbane. I knew the owners, albeit not for very long, and I knew Jen Venardos was a pretty vivacious person, so I expected to have a really good experience. It was everything I expected and more. When it came to speaking about the wines, Jen was relaxed, passionate and knowledgeable, and told the stories behind them with feeling and a sense of pride while appearing humble and appreciative to those in attendance.

As for the wines, well, there were nine available for tasting and we were poured a good amount of the ‘Peggy Sue’, a NV sparkling Pinot Noir and what a delightful way to start a tasting.

There were three whites on offer all from the 2023 vintage. The fresh and fruity ‘Straw Boss’ Riesling with its slight texture provides for immediate drinking, the nicely flavoured ‘Stompa’ Sauvignon Blanc’s gentle acidity and crisp finish should be your seafood matching go-to wine. The ‘Monarch’ Chardonnay was the pick of the whites for me having fruit salad like flavours, nicely played oak and natural acidity adding to the good length. The 2022 ‘Hulah Hoop’ Rosé is a great food wine. Made using Tempranillo grapes, there is plenty of flavour, a bit of body to it and a nice touch of acidity too.

Interestingly, the first red wine was the 2016 ‘Foxtrot’ Reserve Pinot Noir that showed characteristics of dark cherry, earthy notes with the tannins all but integrated. Certainly a drink now proposition. The remaining three 2021 vintage red wines were no slouches that’s for sure. The ‘Chaste’ Shiraz with its lovely blackcurrant flavours, slight spicey notes, soft smooth tannins with the oak and fruit nicely in balance proved to be a bit of a favourite of mine. The ‘Good Oil’ Cabernet/Shiraz packed dark fruits into its great fruit profile while the subtle oak and soft tannins add to the nice long finish. Last, but by no means the least, the ‘Middle Child’ Cabernet Sauvignon is all about the black and blue fruits with good support from soft silky tannins, a little oak influence and really good length.

All of these wines offer really good value buying and they also have mixed case options for those who can’t quite work out what which one or ones they liked the most.