Brash Higgins 2016 ‘NYMPH’ White Blend
Sometimes making varietal wines can feel like painting with just one colour. By blending a special selection of different grapes, however, the whole can be much more interesting than the sum of its parts. Blends of white grapes are often overlooked when it comes to producing wines of sheer drinkability. It’s logical, at least to us, to make white wines in McLaren Vale that blend some of the “unsung” grape varieties to create youthful wines that are complex, expressive and intriguing.
Our NYMPH is such a wine. Our first vintage is a colourful white blend of Chenin Blanc, Semillon, Viognier and Riesling from four different McLaren Vale vineyards picked over 48 hours. Hand picked during a busy period in the winery, during an even busier 2016 vintage, all the fruit was de-stemmed back at HQ and fermented together. A spry, fresh-faced style of white wine from Brash Higgins; one that’s well suited for year round drinking.
The painting on the Nymph label is “Dianthus Quin Gold” (2016) by Sydney based artist Alesandro Ljubicic. His strong, textural work can be found at Scott Livesey Galleries and MichaelReid.com
‘Touch misty, opalescent yellow in appearance. The wine is dry yet exudes warm bread, cinnamon apples, curry leaf and stone fruit aromas. Complex notes of cut ginger, cardamon pod, celery salt, and spiced apples flow onto the palate with texture and weight; some nice tannins and a savoury, dry finish pull the wine together on the close.’ – Brad Hickey, Vinitor, September 2, 2016.
Additional information
Harvest date: February 4 and 5, 2016
Hand Picked over two days
Four Vineyards:
28% Chenin Blanc-Willamba Hill- Blewitt Springs, Moritz Road
28% Viognier-Inkwell Estate- Tatachilla, California Road
28% Semillon-Sherry Vnyd- Blewitt Springs, Moritz Road
16% Riesling-OzCooper Vnyd-Willunga, Aldinga Road
Viticulture: Sustainable
Time on skins: Five days, pressed after to co-ferment
Fermenter types: Steel VC tanks
Bottling date: August 24, 2016
Closure: Stelvin +
pH 3.43, TA 5.7 g/l, alc 11.5%
250 cases
Price: $30 per bottle, $180 per 6 bottle case
