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.

The story of Stonewell Shiraz began in 1987, is named after the Barossa district – the heartland of wine, its made from the very best, special grapes, affectionately named ‘Little Black Jewels’ drawn only from low-yielding vineyards that produce sparse bunches with tiny, but intensely flavoured fruit.

Lifted powerful blackberry fruit, dark chocolate, raspberry, crushed rocks, and hint of smoky oak char on the nose. A palate of rich plums, spiced fruitcake, a slight minty freshness and an oily/inky mouthfeel with a long & fine-grained tannic structure over a long, sumptuous finish. In short, everything is in its right place and it will be exciting to see how this wine continues to develop.

The Stonewell is built to match rich meat dishes. Char-grilled medium rare scotch fillet with a creamy mushroom sauce, served with roasted baby carrots and duck-fat chat potatoes would be the ultimate heavenly pairing.