Monday, May 2, 2011

BROWN BROTHERS SPECIAL LATE HARVESTED ORANGE MUSCAT AND FLORA 2010

- Murray Darling, VIC
- $7-$15 (375ml)
- Screwcap
- 10.0%alc

As far as $10 stickies go, Brown Brothers' little sweetie is among the few I'm quite happy to drink. It's a relatively simple, late harvest style, creatively blended from 2 rare varieties. So unique is the blend of orange muscat (a member of the muscat family) and flora (a hybrid of semillon and gewurztraminer), that the back label even brandishes the Brown Brothers 'World Exclusive' tag.

There's a floral, moscato-like scent of musk emanating from Brown Brothers' 2010, with hints of orange/lemon zest and lychee juice adding interest to a carefully sweetened bouquet. Although matching the nose with a fairly sweet and simple profile, the palate shows a surprisingly concentrated thread of cool, rich flavour for its price, as it unwinds to a taste of stonefruit marmalade refreshingly lifted by notes of lemon citrus and a trail of lychee juice to pass. Its length achieves a pass mark, but it is fractionally tart to linger, however, it remains refreshing enough to down a whole glass (or two!) and at the price, there's little to complain about. It's definitely one to drink well chilled though.

ü Brown Brothers' continued perseverance with this wine shows in the 2010, which balances a surprising richness with refreshing acids and clean flavours. Bargain. Drink to 2013.
88 points


4 comments:

  1. My go to stickie when on a budget or confronted by limited choice. Never had a bad one to be honest.

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  2. Thanks Red. I certainly can't recall being disappointed by one either. De Bortoli's Vat 5 is my other go to at that price range by the way. Other than that though..... there's certainly a lot of Australian wines under that category I chose to ignore, especially the stuff that's light, sweet, fizzy and cheap......

    Just not my style I guess.

    Cheers,
    Chris P

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  3. Have you ever had an old Orange Muscat & Flora? I was given a half-bottle a couple of years ago, must've been about twelve years old... drank beautifully. The back label refers to ageing ability but I don't think many people take it seriously.

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  4. Definitely nothing that old! Dang!

    I'm always willing to take a punt on something cheap and tasty for the cellar though, and I do have room for a 'halfie' in there :) To be conservative, I'll probably go 5-8 years though.

    Thanks for the tip joshgtv! :)

    CP

    ReplyDelete