Brash Higgins FRNC Cabernet Franc is an exceptional wine that beautifully showcases the unique characteristics of McLaren Vale in South Australia. Made from hand-picked grapes, this wine is a blend of Cabernet Franc and small portions of Malbec and Shiraz. It is aged for 12 months in oak barrels which lend it a velvety texture and delicate tannins. The nose is complex and layered with aromas of red fruits, herbs, and spice. On the palate, it reveals flavors of cherry, blackberry, and a hint of tobacco, with a long and lingering finish. Brash Higgins FRNC Cabernet Franc is a sophisticated wine that is perfect for pairing with lamb, venison, and other rich meats.

Tasting Notes

A translucent ruby/violet in colour. The nose is lifted, aromatic, complex with jalapeno chilli and a roasted, sweet charred green capsicum nose, violet leaf. There is pepper, cedar, ashes, rose petals, earthy fragrances like piles of leaves in autumn, exactly what this vineyard smells like after a summer rain. Balanced, vibrant, medium bodied, the wine has a satiny, svelte mouth feel and a long smooth finish with grip

About the Winery

Brash Higgins, based out of Southern Australia, is a creation of Brad Hickey and Nicole Thorpe. Brad, nicknamed "Brash" by Australian pruners, brought his interest in food and wine and the experience of having worked in the US and Australia to the table. Nicole had a vineyard named Omensletter, with Cabernet, Sauvignon, Shiraz varieties of grapes planted in 1997. When the two met in 2007, Australia was reeling under drought, affecting the Omensletter vineyard.

Their journey to Sicily to find a solution for this problem exposed them to other types of grapes, which they brought back and grafted with the local Shiraz grapes. The grapes were then fermented in locally made terracotta vessels. Their first wine, the Nero d'Avola, was launched under the name of Brash Higgins. Their curiosity about viniculture and fermentation techniques led to the creation of Bloom considered the closest imitation of the famous Vin Jaune wines in Australia. Omensletter vineyard is the first vineyard in Australia to adopt amphoras or large terracotta vessels in the winemaking process

Some of the proud products from Brash Higgins include:

2018 'NDV' Nero d'Avola-Amphora: This wine is made with the famous amphora method of winemaking, where bunches of grapes are stored in large terracotta vessels. With a dark ruby color and hints of lavender, stem ginger, vermouth and nori, the wine also contains orange peel that will remind the user of the old-fashioned orange cocktail. The wine's finish is made from fine finished, chain-linked tannins and has a bit of savouriness.

2019 Riesling/Semillon: Made from Riesling and Semillon in the ratio of 70-30, the 2019 Riesling/Semillon smells of lemon zest, moss, toasted grain, peach kernel and hybrid tea rose. It presents the juiciness of white peach and fresh lime in a silken palate and a mineral finish. The wine's herbal and protein-rich flavors are enhanced by iodine, mineral salts, crushed stone, and alkali.

2020 'Nymph' Nero Rosé: This red wine, made from the Nero d'Avola from the Omensletter vineyard, is dry and has an onion skin-like color. It exudes the aroma of cherry, ginger, nectarine and hybrid-rose tea. The palate is made up of dried cherries and cut ginger notes, with bright acidity and a powdery finish.

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