Brad Hickey is a Chicago lad who, I assume, never thought he’d end up making wine in South Australia. He did a bit of corporate stuff, as so many of us do, but then like so many talented and creative individuals he gravitated to wine. First it was as a sommelier and writer in Paris, Portland, and NYC (working for Michelin 2* David Bouley), but he decided doing a harvest in Australia might be fun. That fortuitous decision led him to meet grape grower Nicole Thorpe, and also to gain his nickname, Brash Higgins.

The origin of that nickname which went on to become the couple’s brand (Brad and Nicole are no longer a couple, so to speak, but remain friends and business partners), lies with the Aussie pruners Brad worked with. If you know Aussie pruners, they don’t suffer fools (neither gladly nor any other way). However, if they like you, and Brad is a very affable bloke, you will get a nickname. It’s a rite of passage. Let’s just say he’s probably glad he didn’t draw the short straws because one of them was known as Knackers, another one, Bedsores. Brash because Brad is a yank, and we know all yanks are brash, right? Higgins, more obscurely, after Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady for his generally erudite manner. Always checking the rainfall and sunshine hours etc.

Nicole had a vineyard called Omensetter. You may have heard of it by now. I’m sure this is not the prime reason Brad wanted to get to know her. Omensetter was planted to Cabernet and Shiraz in 1997, on really great terroir of mineral rich clay and limestone, in McLaren Vale, but close enough to benefit from the ocean breezes off the Gulf of Saint Vincent, just 5km away. That helped them weather that late-nineties drought, along with Brad’s attention to the stats. The drought got them interested in alternative varieties, something we are now all of a sudden hearing plenty about in an Australian context. Back then they were new, but a convo with Steve Pannell, a leader in planting drought-resistant Italian vines in Australia, led them to plant Nero d’Avola, that Sicilian hot climate variety.

That one small step has in many ways been a catalyst for every other innovation the couple have made. From Amphora (made by artisans in Australia) wines, Zibibbo, Cinsault and Carignan, and to Bloom (of which more later).

Among my favourite wines from Brad, aside from Bloom, are a Cabernet Franc and a Chenin from cooler sites, a brilliant amphora-made Nero d’Avola (NDA), and an equally exciting Zibibbo (Muscat of Alexandria, also found in Sicily). The Zibibbo (ZBO) is sourced up in Riverland, but from seriously well-tended fruit, actually 70-year-old bush vines from Ricca Terra Farms. It is transformed into something special in (once more) amphora where it sees an extended maceration, 150 (sic) days on skins. It may be pale copper in colour, a little cloudy (once an horrific sin in Australia) and smell or taste like waxy confit lemon with honey and eucalyptus, but it isn’t tannic.

The pièce de resistance from Brash Higgins is Bloom. This is an oxidatively aged homage to Jura’s Vin Jaune. It’s not a replica though. The variety is Chardonnay, not Savagnin. The current vintage is 2015, which is only Bloom’s third incarnation. Bloom uses fruit from the sandy Blewitt Springs sub-region, just south of Adelaide. The wine is matured in usually just four barrels previously used for White Burgundy for a period of six-and-a-half years, similar to the ageing period for Vin Jaune. Flor grows naturally on the surface of the wine, but unlike in the Jura, Brad adds a little fresh wine periodically, which feeds the flor, but not towards the end of ageing, where the barrels get a quarter turn to keep the bungs air tight.

The result is amber in colour with very complex aromas of caramelised butter, whisky, apples, lemons, orange, Indian spices (cumin and coriander plus more), and a top note of just decipherable coconut. The palate has less acidity than most young Vin Jaune, but it’s all lemon and hazelnut with great salinity. The 2015 was bottled in August 2022 at 15% abv, and kept in their McLaren Vale cellars before release.

The current vintage has therefore only just come to the market but with a mere seventy-five cases for the world, this is something of a unicorn. I got one of the last bottles in Sydney in mid-April and Brad has around thirty bottles remaining at the winery. I am unsure whether any more bottles made it to England (other than perhaps in Brad’s luggage for his recent trip here). The previous two vintages (2008 and 2012) only came in tiny quantities via suitcases. The 2015 is around $175 in Australia, that’s around £90 and a relative bargain for such a rarity.

However, Brash Higgins isn’t all about Bloom. I’ve already mentioned some of my other favourites. New releases this year include a prestige 2010 Omensetter vineyard blend (85% Shizza and 15% Cab, made to age), Ripple 2021 (Nero/Cab blend via carbonic maceration), and a 2020 Shiraz which Brad says is spicy, iron-rich, sweet-fruited and salty. Wines I am yet to try but desperately want to include “Nymph” (a Carignan/Cinsault blend Rosé) and “Moon-Yay” (who wouldn’t want to get stuck into a zero-sulphur Pinot Meunier?).

There’s also “TWNY”, a solera project going for more than 20 years using Macallan Whisky casks which had previously been used for Oloroso Sherry and started by a couple of whisky connoisseurs. The grapes are a blend of Grenache and PX. There are 100 x 50cl etched bottles in memory of one of the project’s now sadly departed initiators ($150). Aussie “ports” are one of wine’s hidden treats. But I think this one might have to wait until my next trip to Australia.

In the UK, Berkmann Wine Cellars is now Brad’s importer/agent. They started working together before Covid, but Brad has just left London following a trip to Europe which has, among other visits, given him a chance to spend time with the Berkmann team. Berkmann currently imports Brad’s Chenin, Zibibbo, Cabernet Franc, MCC (a Mataro, Cinsault, Carignan field blend), GR/M (Grenache and Mataro co-ferment) and Cabernet Sauvignon. Hopefully, following Brad’s UK trip, we might see a few more. Check with Berkmann for retailers.

For US readers, Brad works with Hudson Wine Brokers.

In a recent email Brad was explaining how he often sees some wines get more flavour recognition in certain markets. He gave two examples. Ripple, the carbonic Nero/Cab blend mentioned above, has gone down really well in Japan, where Brad is now, with importer GRN. The wine’s sweet and sour profile reminded tasters of Japanese plums. I’m sure the wine is less of an acquired taste than the plums, which I don’t find very palatable, and Brad’s tasting note does add flavours of “summer berries and candied strawberries” as well as the pickled plums, but it’s all about flavour recognition deep in the olfactory senses.

Another example of a great pairing was discovered when Brad, as part of the time spent with Danish agent Jules Engros, made a trip to the Faroe Islands (lucky man, Koks restaurant is on my wish list). Here, under the midnight sun, ZBO (Zibibbo) made an impression with fermented fish. The thing is, in the UK we are lucky to have such a variety of culinary influences, and if you love food you will assimilate references deep in the taste part of the brain which will always be there when tasting wine, ready to seep out. But I think Australians experimenting with a myriad of alternative varieties, and novel blends, will always find new taste sensations to bring to our table.

I genuinely believe that these wines, most being not too expensive, are excellent value. They fill that gap which does seem to have grown on export markets, especially in the UK, for excellent wines which are made with great artisan care, yet are not awfully expensive. Hic! Wine lists the Cabernet Franc for £21, R&H Fine Wines has MCC for £24.99, and Cork & Cask (Edinburgh) has the Zibibbo (ZBO) at £29.95. The Chenin is around £25. For me, any wine of this level of quality under £30 is good value in my book, but good value is not enough. There’s excitement aplenty as well. I’m kinda saying go try some, aren’t I. Brad is no newbie, yet his wines are only really starting to be discovered on the UK market. Now is a good time to have a look.