A few weeks ago I attended a bloggers event at Hix Soho to sample a selection of Brown Brothers Wines which had been carefully selected to accompany our ‘HIX Oyster and Chop Feast’ menu. Our host was Andrew Harris, a wine ambassador for Brown Brothers who provided us with a great insight into the workings of the Brown Brothers vineyards as well as background information on each of the wines that we tried that night. He spoke with such passion for the Brown Brothers products that it was easy to see how much care and attention goes into the making of their wines.

A family owned business, Brown Brothers is one of Australia’s oldest wineries with vineyards in Victoria as well as the pristine farmlands of Tasmania. Each of the vineyards in the Brown Brothers portfolio have varying characteristics ranging from cool to sun-drenched plains. Consequently the grapes from each vineyard offer different characteristics which contribute to the diverse range of wines in the Brown Brothers portfolio.

For starters we were presented with a variety of oysters which included British regional rock and native oysters, some scrumptious fried rock oysters with a dittander mayonnaise and jellied oysters with cucumber and wild chervil. The oysters were meaty and delicious and accompanied by two Brown Brothers wines, a Limited Release Banksdale Chardonnay, 2012 and an 18 Eighty Nine Sauvignon Blanc, 2013.

Fried oysters

The chardonnay had a delicate nose with nectarine and grapefruit notes followed by a fine and elegant finish. It was a wine which promised depth and complexity, but it was the sauvignon blanc that was my favourite of the evening. Boasting of aromas of melon and passionfruit it was an exceptionally easy wine to drink.

Our main course was a chop feast consisting of marbled Glenarm Estate beef ribs, Launceston lamb and Moyallon pork. All the meats were beautifully cooked and delicious and served with some fabulous baked bone marrow.

The meat platter

Perfectly cooked meat

The meats were paired with the Limited Release Heathcote Shiraz, 2012, and the Patricia Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006. The shiraz offered aromas of cinnamon and cedary oak with a spicy and elegant finish. But more complex was the cabernet sauvignon, named after Patricia, the matriarch of the Brown family. It was a particularly special wine with aromas of dark berries and currants and a gentle French oak finish. With good length and complexity, the Patricia also offered a particularly elegant finish. Both wines paired well with the meats.

Brown Brothers – Orange Muscat Flora

The dessert was a Hix specialty, a shipwrecked tart with clotted cream. With lashings of cider brandy, it was super, super boozy, superbly decadent and mesmerisingly tasty. Made with a variety of nuts for a crunchy texture, running through the tart was a wonderful gooey treacle, the richness of which was tapered by the scrumptious clotted cream. The dessert was matched with the OM&F, 2012, the Orange Muscat and Flora, a blend which is unique to Brown Brothers. It was a delicious sweet wine with aromas of lemon and honey and a well balanced finish.

Shipwrecked tart

I was really impressed with the Brown Brothers drops that we tried. They were all easy to drink and paired well with the delicious food that we had. Furthermore, the Brown Brothers wines are very reasonable priced. As an example, the Brown Brothers Special Late Harvested Orange Muscat & Flora can currently be purchased for £7.49 from Waitrose.

Website: http://www.brownbrothers.com.au/
Website: http://www.hixsoho.co.uk/

I attended this event with WineSleuth.