2024 Brash Higgins CHN Chenin Blanc

A textural, site-driven Chenin from the sandy soils of Blewitt Springs.

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Sale price$32.00
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Description

Chenin Blanc isn't exactly the poster child for McLaren Vale, but Brad Hickey makes a compelling argument for it. This 2024 release marks the tenth vintage from the Willamba Hill site in Blewitt Springs, and honestly, it keeps getting better. The vines sit on deep, ancient white sands that seem to drag a saline, maritime character right out of the ground.

Brad leans into that texture rather than trying to polish it away. He leaves the juice on skins for two or three days - just enough to grab some phenolic grip - before sending it to seasoned French barriques for a wild ferment and a 12-month nap. It creates a wine that feels substantial and layered.

In the glass, it’s waxy and savoury, with a distinct salty kick that sits right alongside flavours of lemon verbena, preserved lemon and ginger tea. There’s a tropical hint of papaya in there, but it’s reined in by that mineral backbone. It’s complex and chewy, drinking more like a serious white Burgundy than a simple quaffer. A top-quality example of what the variety can do in Australian soil.

90 points - "From Willamba Hill Vineyard and a ch(eni)n (blanc). This hits the high notes, and with that, expect a bit of white balsamic tang in play. Tart lime, Japanese pickled ginger, tamari almond notes, some sea spray, cucumber in tonic water. Classic meets edgy here. It feels very refreshing and steely, a bright, almost eye-watering profile going on. Good crunch, good sips, though a wine teetering towards being more on the edge than on the line; for me, cool, for others, could be a curious chat at the coalface. It drinks with energy, regardless." - Mike Bennie (The Wine Front)

Customer Reviews

Customer Reviews

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Textural

A bit savory and textural; refreshing

Our tenth, wow, single vineyard Chenin Blanc at Brash Higgins from Willamba Hill. A relatively steep, south facing 35 year old vineyard in the Blewitt Springs sub region of McLaren Vale. It is overlaid with the deep white beach sands distinctive to Blewitt Springs, a few kilometers from the Gulf of St. Vincent. We attempt to capture the salinity from these sandy, coastal soils every year, transporting you to the ocean with each whiff and taste.
Blewitt Springs geology begins some 50 million years ago at the mouth of what is now Maslin Beach (Australia’s first unclad beach) and runs some 40km Eastward up to the foothills of the Adelaide Hills.
The grapes are on skins for a few days before being basket pressed and fermented wild in neutral French barriques for 12 months to help accentuate this maritime effect and to build texture. Only 255 cases of this dry, textural CHN Chenin Blanc were produced.

The CHN 2024 label is a detail from an oil on linen painting by the gifted Sydney artist, Alesandro Ljubicic, called “Try To Be A Rainbow To Someone’s Cloud” @alesandroljubicic

“All textural,saline, minerally, distinct. Lemon verbena, lemon-ginger tea, ginger, papaya, quince, preserved lemon. A vibrant personality. Honey, quinine, apple, straw, fennel, celery root, and more.”


Additional information
Harvest date: February 2, 2024
Vineyard: Willamba Hill Vineyard, Blewitt Springs
Grower: Dr. Grantly Gill
Viticulture: Sustainable
Geology: North Maslin Sands over ironstone/clay
Irrigation: Drip Irrigation
Altitude: 250 metres above sea level
Planted: 1990 on single cordon trellising
Days on skins: 2-3
Fermenter type: White Burgundy Barrel
Time in oak: 12 months
Oak origin: French
Oak age: 100% 6 year
Bottling date May 10, 2025
Closure: Stelvin +
100% Chenin Blanc
pH 3.3, TA 6.7 g/l, Alc 12.5%

255 cases

Price Bracket $31 to $40
Type White
Body Full Bodied
Variety Chenin Blanc
Country Australia
Region McLaren Vale
Australian State SA
Feature Natural/Lo-Fi
Reviewed By The Wine Front
Critic Score 90
Alcohol 12.5%
Size 750ml

Brash Higgins

Brash Higgins is the label of winemaking American-turned-honorary-Aussie, Brad Hickey.

In his former life, Hickey was one of America's top sommeliers, working for many years crafting some of New York's finest wine lists. He came to Australia and fell in love with McLaren Vale and local vigneron Nicole Thorpe, with whom he now produces highly characterful, minimalist wines from their much loved Omensetter vineyard.

Hickey's wines are extremely expressive. They fall in two camps - the wines sourced from Omensetter vineyard and those sourced from friends around the Vale and the warm, dry Riverlands.

Brad Hickey AKA Brash Higgins - McLaren Vale, SA Brash Higgins

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