Brown Brothers Refreshingly Light Sauvignon Blanc 2020

The Brown Brothers team has obviously done its research on just what grape varieties look better in low alcohol mode.

The New Zealanders, leaders in low alcohol wine research, cottoned on early that sauvignon blanc would star with its herbal characters prominent from the get-go.

Here, cool climate Tasmanian sauvignon blanc is employed to deliver some cool low alcohol flavours which it does well: gooseberry, grapefruit pith, green bean and grassy aromas.

It’s all about the fruit which is lively and juicy, retaining its intrinsic grape characters, but it comes across on the palate lacking in power and depth of flavour, but then so many sauvignon blancs do. Alcohol serves an important role in winemaking adding texture and fulness of body.

Achieving that without the usual alcohol levels is one of the biggest hurdles winemakers have to jump. Intended for early drinking and maybe even with the odd ice block thrown in, this savvy still hits the spot. 

Jeni Port

Wine critic at Winepilot

Jeni Port is one of Australia’s top wine communicators. Based in Melbourne, Jeni created the first wine column in the (then) Sun News-Pictorial before moving over to The Age and becoming that paper’s longest-serving wine writer. Over the years she has written for most Australian wine magazines and these days calls WinePilot home. She is also a Tasting Panel member on the Halliday Wine Companion. She was named Wine Communicator of the Year and Legend of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival in 2014 and in 2018 Legend of the Vine. She is a founding board member of Australian Women In Wine and is the co-deputy chair of Australia’s Wine List of the Year Awards and China’s Wine List of the Year Awards.

Wine writer and critic