The Comparator: Brown Brothers NV sparkling wine. Methode Traditionalle

This wine was assessed straight after drinking the 1996 Pol Roger. At only $20, it has been considered one of the better Australian sparkling wines at that price point. So how does it compare?

The mousse on the wine is not the slightest bit persistent nor lingering, nor is the bead. Shameful for a wine bottled at least 10 years after the Pol Roger. The bouquet is garage like, or a weak acetone. There is also rancid meat. There is little acid, but a flabby, unsophisticated base wine. A real disappointment for a wine that has had some acclamation.

Granted, I tasted this straight after the Pol Roger. Had I had it on its own, I may have been happier with it. But why bother. Wherever they picked the grapes for this wine in Victoria, it wasn't cold enough. I'm not sure why anyone would attempt to make an Australian sparkling white wine anywhere other than Tasmania, or perhaps the very coldest parts of Victoria.

I am happy to view this as a $20 wine, and thus expectations ought be moderated. The problem is that I purchased a few bottles of the woolworths "reserve NV Chardonnay Pinot Noir ML25" cleanskin sparkling wine. I think that that was a better wine, and only $8 a bottle.

I believe that a good sparkling needs under-ripe fruit, and that any sparkling not coming from Tasmania doesn't stand a chance. It is an ultra-cool climate proposition. You add CO2 to an under-ripe base to perfect it.

Score: 88/100

Why you want this wine: You don't. Buy a tasmanian sparkling instead. Go the Bay of Fires, or their second label 'Tigress'. Or go the woolworths cleanskin.