Peter Lehmann Stonewell Shiraz

Peter Lehmann, with 33 vintages already under his belt, started his own winery in 1979, partly as a means of helping with the glut of grapes then afflicting the Barossa. "I'll take your grapes and turn them into wine," he told the desperate growers, many of them conservative farmers of Silesian descent who regarded their old vines as part of their patrimony. "But I'll only be able to pay you when I sell the wine." They gratefully accepted. Without this deal, it is widely thought that the Barossa would have lost a huge chunk of its old vines. This is the Peter Lehmann flagship wine, first produced in 1987 and made from a selection of their best Shiraz. The fruit is generally from vineyards in the west and the north of the Barossa, where hard dry soils give rise to low-yielding (less than two tonnes per acre) Shiraz of great quality. It is fermented and aged in oak (90% French) for 18 months prior to bottling.

Shiraz,

Fruit from no more than a dozen small, old vineyards is selected to create this wine each year, the oldest planted in 1885. Three premium estate owned, low-yielding vineyards met the Stonewell standard to be included into this vintage. All three vineyards; Obbietivo, Carey and Simar are located in the southern part of the Barossa.

The grapes were fermented on their skins in static fermenters for two weeks prior to pressing off through a small batch basket press. Following clarification, the wine was aged in French oak hogsheads for 12 months prior to bottling, and was further aged in the cellars before release.

Deep purple with a crimson rim. Aromas of black fruit, ironstone and fig are prevalent on the nose, along with spice, char and some cedar undertones from the oak. The palate is well textured, with intense red and plummy fruit as well as dark chocolate. Fine tannins open up to reveal a wine of immense power and grace.