Traces its origins back to 1934, when the first incidence of botrytis in the riesling at Milawa was noticed by John Brown senior. The wine was made but incorporated into a fortified wine, for there was no market for the style at the time. The first commercial vintage, albeit on a tiny scale, was 1962, the first significant commercial vintage in 1970. But it can legitimately claim to be the first Australian botrytised Riesling commercially released, and the wine has gone from strength to strength, particularly with the 1990s' era decision to bottle and release the wine as a fresher, younger style. James Halliday
Towards the end of vintage each year a portion of the Riesling fruit grown on our Milawa vineyard is left to hang on the vines for late harvesting. In the warm, moist conditions brought about by morning mists and gentle autumn rains, the grapes attract the mould Botrytis Cinerea or "Noble Rot". This mould grows on the grape skins resulting in thinning of the skins which leads to loss of fluid from the berries, leaving them shrunken, raisined and highly concentrated in flavour. From these shrivelled grapes we produce our Noble Riesling – a delicious, rich, sweet dessert table wine. John Brown senior was the first Australian winemaker to harness the unruly mould in 1962. Nearly every year since then the family has produced the wine which critics have hailed as "a classic Australian winestyle" and "the closest thing we have to a Sauternes style".
This wine has an attractive deep gold colour. The nose is intense with rich apricot, toffee and butterscotch characters which are the hallmark of wines from a vintage with high botrytis influence. The palate is luscious with a velvety mouth feel and the high level of acidity ensures a clean, fresh finish that lingers.
