2022 Vignerons Schmolzer & Brown Brunnen Chardonnay

Highly Rated
Classy, elegant Beechworth Chardonnay from two of the region's hottest rising stars.
5.0
Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars
1 Review

Price:
Sale price$60.00
Stock:
In stock, ready to ship
Rendering loop-subscriptions

Description

If you are going to make Beechworth Chardonnay, it is fair to say the bar has been set high.

Names like Giaconda, Savaterre and Sorrenberg have set the standard for the region and they are some big shoes to fill. Tessa Brown and Jeremy Schmolzer are making a very good fist of it.

Their Brunnen Chardonnay comes from the vineyard directly across the road from their own block of fledgeling vines way up in the high country behind Beechworth. It is a beautiful site - cool, high and isolated.

The fruit is treated delicately; predominantly older oak, all natural ferments, malo only happens if it wants to. Nothing about this wine feels forced, it feels like it was nurtured into being. If this is the next generation of Beechworth Chardonnay, there's a bright future ahead for the region.

96 points
"This is just lovely. So lovely. It’s bright and intense, but kind of refined and calm too. It offers plenty of almond meal, light spice, fennel, grapefruit, pear and white peach, some floral notes, with a chef’s kiss of flinty struck match, but not much. It’s juicy, has such energy and cool acidity, but also flavour, some creamy richness, and fine chalky grip on a finish of superb length. Beautiful wine. And, because I love almond, in fact, I’m mad for it, it really gets me in. Yes."
- Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)

95 points
"Another strong release of this wine... Some toasty cedary oak notes through the finish, too. Restrained power, with great complexity and structure. All class."
- Tom Kline (Wine Pilot)

96 points - "This is just lovely. So lovely. It’s bright and intense, but kind of refined and calm too. It offers plenty of almond meal, light spice, fennel, grapefruit, pear and white peach, some floral notes, with a chef’s kiss of flinty struck match, but not much. It’s juicy, has such energy and cool acidity, but also flavour, some creamy richness, and fine chalky grip on a finish of superb length. Beautiful wine. And, because I love almond, in fact, I’m mad for it, it really gets me in. Yes." - Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)

95 points - "Another strong release of this wine. The making: “Pressed as crushed clusters. Partial solids wild ferment, then full mlf in barrique. 25% new oak. Ten months in oak with monthly stirring, then five months in tank for fine lees tightening before bottling”. There’s a quietness to this wine that draws you into the glass. Subtle nougat, brine, slithered almond, red apple, clotted cream, pastry dough, and a whisper of smoke. The palate has energy and verve, texture and restrained power. Red apple, cream, smoke, pastry dough, and oak spice are wrapped up in chalky phenolics and firm acidity bringing freshness and drawing length. Some toasty cedary oak notes through the finish, too. Restrained power, with great complexity and structure. All class." - Tom Kline (Wine Pilot)

93 points - "A single-vineyard chardonnay that is singularly delightful. Brings both a savouriness and a generosity of fruit to the glass, exploring grilled cashews, fresh baked bread, stone fruit, quince and citrus. The palate is supple, restrained and creamy in texture. A more generous expression of the grape from the maker, built around a tangy mineral base that is very attractive, very Beechworth." - Jeni Port (Halliday Wine Companion)

93 points - "The 2022 Brunnen Chardonnay tastes riper than the Thorley tasted alongside it. Here, the mouth is filled with yellow peach and soft nectarine, almond meal, a whiff of custard powder and crushed shells, pressed rose, preserved lemon peel, blood orange, green tea and caper brine. The wine is plump and weighty without being heavy or cumbersome. Very good." - Erin Larkin (The Wine Advocate)

Customer Reviews

5.0
Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars
Based on 1 review
Total 5 star reviews: 1 Total 4 star reviews: 0 Total 3 star reviews: 0 Total 2 star reviews: 0 Total 1 star reviews: 0
1 review
  • WS Profile picture for Ward S.
    Ward S.
    Verified Buyer
    Wine Knowledge Level Cork Dork
    5 years ago
    Wine Knowledge Level Cork Dork
    2019 Vignerons Schmolzer & Brown Brunnen Chardonnay
    Reviewing
    2019 Vignerons Schmolzer & Brown Brunnen Chardonnay
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    Great modern balance

    This Chardonnay is exceptional. Lemon citrus and mineral with a balanced hit of oak and malo. Recommended;

Reviews LoadedReviews Added

Bright pale straw. An initially shy yet complex nose melding yellow grapefruit, crushed shells and almond meal, with an overarching and delicately perfumed arbor of white florals.

The citrus zesty and minerally palate shows plenty of energy, with a light balancing of fresh cream to length. Think unripe peach and apricot, crunchy stonefruit flesh, their skins and kernels, building into yellow citrus on the palate.

Price Bracket $51 to $100
Type White
Body Full Bodied
Variety Chardonnay
Country Australia
Region Beechworth
Australian State VIC
Feature Women in Wine
High Score
Reviewed By The Wine Front
Halliday Wine Companion
Wine Pilot
The Wine Advocate
Critic Score 96
95
Size 750ml
Vintage 2022
Closure Cork

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

Others also liked

Recently viewed

Shipping

Delivery is free on orders of $150 or more!

For orders under this amount, delivery is calculated at checkout based on your postcode. You can order in any quantity or combination of wines you like. Straight dozens are not required.

We will dispatch your order the same or next business day.

Estimated delivery transit time varies depending on your location. Please review this page for specific estimates.

Sydney (Our Vans): If no one is home and there are no special delivery instructions our driver will try to call for instructions. If the driver believes there is a safe space to leave your wine they will do so if not, they will return the item to us and hold your order until further instruction from you. 

Melbourne (Anonymous Wine Freight): If no one is home and there are no special delivery instructions, the courier will try to call for instructions. If the driver believes there is a safe space to leave your wine they will do so. if not, they will return the item to their dispatch centre and hold until further instruction from you.

Australia Post: Australia Post will leave the parcel if they have been given authority to leave and it is deemed safe to do so. To give your Authority to Leave, please enter this in the 'SPECIAL REQUEST' box at checkout.

Ordering

We want Different Drop customers to always be getting the best price. If you see a lower price elsewhere, just get in touch and we will sort it out for you. We handle all our price-matching on a case by case basis.

Some things to keep in mind: 

  • Retrospective price-matching is available for 30 days after you have purchased from us.
  • The price match cannot be used in conjunction with a coupon or one-off deal we are offering. The idea is for you to get the best price in the market so if that is already achieved through a coupon then we won't price match on top of that.
  • We don't price match clearance or fire sales.
  • We’ll match the listed price as long as it is a legitimate offer and the competing store is actually able to fulfil the order (they have stock or more stock is en route). Essentially we won't price match cheeky vendors listing wines they have no hope of actually getting for you...
  • It must be a publicly listed price. We won't match a price that has been achieved through a coupon/cash-back arrangement, or through a non-advertised offer over the phone or otherwise.  
  • It is limited to a reasonable retail quantity.

We'll treat each price match request on its merit and reserve the right to refuse where we deem fit. For example, particularly rare wines, from non-trust-worthy vendors, in circumstances we deem illegitimate or if we feel our policy is being unfairly taken advantage of.

At the end of the day, we'll look after you and use common sense to ensure you're getting the best price, please just don't take the p%$$!

No, feel free to mix it up! There is no minimum requirement. You can order wines in any quantity or combination, 1 or 50+ bottles.

We stock three different sized gift boxes (single, three bottle and six), all are available for purchase for a flat rate of $8. They look great and make an awesome impression.

To add a gift box to your order, simply add at checkout. The special requests box is your friend, please give us as many details of what you are looking for and we will try our best, or get in contact to discuss it with you. 

If you want to bulk order gifts or if you have any trouble please email hello@differentdrop.com or call and we can try and help.

 

If you can't add more wine to your cart it means we are low on stock of that wine. For example, if you are only able to 3 bottles and no more that means we only have 3 bottles left of that wine. If it's a must have, please contact us and we may be able to order more in for you.

Call Us

Send a message