Few wines can handle the pace of Brassfield’s 2015 moscato.
Tip it to start the evening on the Vegas strip, the swirl of 6th Street in Austin or during some French Quarter bacchanal, it will still be ready for another round come morning. It’s sweet heft engages you into the early hours, while its lean, fruity bite cools the heat of an early afternoon.
“It’s a hedonistic white wine,” acknowledged Brassfield winemaker Matt Hughes with a laugh. “It’s the party starter and the party finisher.”
Somehow the 2015 moscato developed the fortitude to suit any occasion without tipping out of control. The wanton vintage enjoys the good life in any form, be it opulent and relaxed or utterly shameless.
On the nose it shows a fluttering, flirtatious character, lavishing you with glances laced with honeysuckle, stewed tart apple, baking nectarines and a toss of tropical flair. Hints of winter melon and the snap of raw green apple suggest repose on one hand, spirit on the other.
A sip welcomes the ripe blade of tropical fruit, slipping through the dense, condensing sugars bubbling from pear and apple in cast iron. A rumble of sweet earth like the husks of vanilla bean emerge to counter the easy caramelized sway — although the finish warms with hints of clover honey.
Still, there remains a keenness, a bright flickering glimmer of fresh fruit, even as the sip begins to wane.
It’s easy and fun, but substantive.
“That wine lives on the edge of syrupy and refreshing,” Hughes observed. “No one is going to complain about it.
The grapes ripened in a small block perched on the slopes of an old volcanic ridge. Hughes acknowledges the workings of terroir in developing the 2015 moscato’s enticing character. The Brassfield crew harvested a little on the far side of ripeness to develop sugars and fermented in stainless steel.
Throughout the process they held the temperatures. And they snapped off fermentation early, looking to preserve that acidic balance.
Nothing more too it, except an effort to maintain a pop of C02 during bottling in order to keep the fruit entertained and lively — a little impression of glittering frizzante over a wine with some heft.
The last touch lends a clean and fresh aspect to the wine, even though it carries a nice soothing coat of residual sugar. It is not a heavy wine.
“I like the density, the weight,” Hughes said. “It’s sweet, but also very bright.”
And it’s a wine eager for the occasion — any occasion.
Dave Faries can be reached at 900-2016
