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ACellars Newsletter 9th June, 2022 - Brad from Brash Higgins in-store Next Wednesday Night! + New Eric Goypieron + This Week's Staff Pick

by Annandale Cellars

Brash Higgins

In-Store Tasting with Brad

Wednesday, June 14th

5:30pm - 7:30pm

 

The sobering lessons learned from the 1980s South Australian Government's Vine Pull Scheme would make any grower in the state hesitant to make changes to the vines.

But not Brad Hickey and Nicole Thorpe of Brash Higgins.

Brash's changes however were not quite so brash.

Where the government's encouragement to pull old Barossan vines was based on market forces (the Chardonnay of the day fetching a far better price per tonne compared to those low-yielding, seemingly underperforming centenarian Grenache and Shiraz vines), the changes made to the vines of Nicole's Omensetter Vineyard in neighbouring McLaren Vale some 20 years later, were based on the climate forces. Seeing the Shiraz and Cabernet suffer each year to drought after drought, Brad recalled a conversation he had had with Steve Parnell about the drought-tolerant Nero d'Avola that thrives in the heat and the dry-farming conditions of Sicily. A trip to the grape's arid island home convinced Brad and Nicole just how similar the Sicilian climate was to the McLaren Vale, with its lack of rain, yet mineral-rich soils and cooling sea breezes, and so the pair grafted Nero d'Avola cuttings to half an acre of their Shiraz vines.

Meeting Sicilian producers on this trip, such as COS and Frank Cornelissen of Munjebel and Susucaru fame also captured Brad's imagination. The couple commissioned Adelaide-based potter John Bennet to make 200L terracotta pots for them from local South Australian clay, and the Brash Higgins "Nero d'Avola Amphora Project" was born, winning awards for the winery with "Rule Breaker" status.

The rule breaking, vine-ripping style of Brash Higgins did not stop there. Brad and Nicole would often drink Ouzo with a fellow local grower Chris. Chris' homemade Ouzo was made from a cutting of an unidentified white grape that he had brought with him to Australia in his suitcase when he emigrated from Greece in the 1950s. DNA analysis revealed the cutting to be Crystal, and in 2016, Brad and Nicole ripped out a new vineyard to plant the propogated Crystal on its own roots. Crystal is co-fermented with Chenin Blanc in their Pét-Nat "Crystal 2021" resulting in a sparkling white with toasty notes of pear, apple and honey. It is alive.

But what really is alive is "Bloom 2015", Brash's ode to the oxidative, sous voile style (under a floral veil of yeast) of Jura. Brash ages Chardonnay from the sandy soils of Blewitt Springs for six and a half years in white Burgundy barrels, occassionally in the first years adding fresh wine to feed the protective barrier of yeast, but then leaving the complex flavours to develop undisturbed over the next four years.

As Brad explains, "only 75 cases of this dry, quixotic white wine were produced". Join us next Wednesday evening with a rare opportunity to try this cult wine with Brad himself.

Come and have a chat with him as he pours:

- Crystal Pét-Nat 2021

- CHN Chenin Blanc 2021

- NYMPH Rosé 2021

- MCC Mataro/Cinsault/Carignan 2020

- NDV Nero d'Avola Amphora Project 2020

- CBSV Cabernet Sauvignon 2020

- Bloom Chardonnay 2015

 

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Eric Goypieron

 

Like Brash, Eric Goypieron is also a bit of a rule-breaker. His Jura wines are produced under the "Vin de France" designation as he finds even the Jura appellation too conformative.

That said, Eric's "Vin de France" Chardonnay, Savagnin, Poulsard and Trousseau are a great starting place for anyone curious about the Jurassic World: in some of the cuvées the oxidative style is somewhat refined, and vinification in tank sees a freshnesh across the un-flored range, introducing you conservatievly but intimately with the varietals of the region. Even his Macvins (the fortified wines of the Jura) are produced from single varietals, rather than the trend of fortifying a blend.

Learning the craft from famed Jurassiens Jacques Puffernay and friend Michel Gahier, Eric farms organically with a respect for the land; his wines are made without additions or preservatives. As the salty, tart style of the Jura lends itself, Eric's wines are best enjoyed with good food and even better company.

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Staff Pick

Le Battistelle Roccolo del Durlo Soave Classico 2020

Soave coming from over 100 year old vines for this price?! Insane! The extra time on lees and the addition of 48 hours skin contact builds texture and adds a layer of complexity to the standard offering. A big step up in presence and length without being fat or rich. A mineral driven wine with layers of just ripe stone fruit, zest and so much to enjoy.

Moreton Bay bugs and this... Dreaming.

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