2025 Vignerons Schmölzer & Brown King Valley Fiano

94 pts
A serious, textural Fiano from the King Valley that balances nashi pear and savoury hay notes with a crisp, saline finish.

Price:
Sale price$40.00
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In stock, ready to ship
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Description

Tessa Brown once upon a time made some Fiano for the Chalmers family, so it's great to see her take on the variety once again under her family label. This King Valley release, sourced from the Corsini family, is a textbook example of why she loves the grape: it’s resilient, holds its acid beautifully in the heat, and takes to skin contact and old oak like a champ.

The 2025 vintage in the King Valley was pretty classic, benefiting from a long, moderate ripening period that allowed for fantastic flavour development. There’s a superb textural element here - it’s got a bit of "chew" and a slip of satin on the palate, carrying flavours of nashi pear, hay, and a distinct tonic water edge. It’s not just a simple fruity white; there’s a savoury, umami depth and a twist of saline minerals that make it excellent drinking.

We love the tension in this wine. It balances that rich, leesy breadth with a punchy, phenolic grip on the finish. It’s refreshing and intense in all the right places, making it an absolute winner for those who want a bit more "stuff" in their glass without losing that crisp, crunchy drinkability.

94 points
"This feels real right on, and that texture hasn’t been sidelined, and that flavour, at a just-so ripeness is retained. Well done. So good to see fiano given a long leash to make it interesting, complex and satisfying as a serious white wine. All in."
- Mike Bennie (The Wine Front)

94 points - "There’s a distinct savouriness to this wine, a bitter element, pleasingly so. Just-ripe pear, bitter herbs, tonic water, lemongrass piquancy, light gingery notes, a touch of green almond. This feels real right on, and that texture hasn’t been sidelined, and that flavour, at a just-so ripeness is retained. Well done. So good to see fiano given a long leash to make it interesting, complex and satisfying as a serious white wine. All in." - Mike Bennie (The Wine Front)

Customer Reviews

Tess used to make a bit of Fiano for the legendary Chalmers family in her last day job, and it is one of her favourite Italian white varieties. It's got lovely oval shaped berries in loose clusters and high natural acidity making it a great choice for a warming climate. This fruit is from our friends the Corsini family in King Valley and we do a day of skin contact before pressing, then the majority of wild ferment in neutral oak before finishing in tank.

Bright warm straw appearance. Some gentle fumé notes on opening due to the oak ferment, and then the typical varietal ripe yellow apple and a bit of green almond and and some lightly savoury cheesiness. The palate is dry with plenty of lees-derived breadth, some crunchy fennel bulb herb notes and minerally phenolic length.

Price Bracket $31 to $40
Type White
Body Medium Bodied
Variety Fiano
Country Australia
Region King Valley
Australian State VIC
Reviewed By The Wine Front
Critic Score 94
Size 750ml
Vintage 2025
Closure Screw Cap

Vignerons Schmölzer & Brown

Tessa and Jeremy are playing a long-game with their Vignerons Schmolzer & Brown label.

They have invested in a block of land high in the hills behind Beechworth and have planted 10,000 vines on it over the last couple of years with the plan to farm it organically. Tessa has a wealth of experience from time at Sorrenberg and Kooyong, Jeremy is an architect by trade with an eye for detail.

It comes as no surprise that the buzz around this husband and wife team is palpable and the praise is high. Max Allen called them, “one of a remarkable number of impressive new wine labels to have cropped up in Beechworth over the last five years.”

They are going to be at the forefront of Beechworth wine for many years to come.

Tessa and Jeremy in Thorley vineyard - Beechworth, VIC Vignerons Schmölzer & Brown

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