Wolf Blass revives Brown Label

Wolf Blass has revived one of its original wines, Brown Label Shiraz, to celebrate the 80^th birthday of the founder and announced that Watson’s Wines will have the initial distribution rights in Hong Kong.

The Brown Label was one of Wolf Blass’ original wines, first released in 1975 and initially named “Brown Label Hermitage” – the French AOC later dropped leaving the wine to simply be called “Brown Label Classic Shiraz”.

The label was withdrawn in 2002 and absorbed into the Grey Label range but continued inquiries by consumers has led the winery to announce a relaunch this autumn in time for the 80^th birthday of Wolf Blass on 2 September –  and with a suitably retro-looking label that harks back to the original look.

The Brown Label is a blend of Shiraz from Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and Langhorne Creek. The launch in Hong Kong was announced at a lunch hosted by head winemaker Chris Hatcher (pictured).

Speaking to the drinks business at the lunch, Hatcher said that the Brown Label is a “mini Black Label”, Wolf Blass’ premium Shiraz bottling.

The wine is currently being shipped to Hong Kong and, for an initial period at least, will be available through Watson’s Wines.

Also announced at the lunch was a new label design for the Platinum Label. Coming on line with the 2010 vintage, the new design sees “Platinum Label” written in slightly smaller text, while “Medlands Vineyard” has been added to emphasise the fact that the wine is from a single vineyard.

Medlands is in Barossa and has a cool microclimate because of its proximity to the Para River that runs through Eden Valley. It was once part of Seppelt’s Dorrien Vineyard.