Vol. 2 No. 7
Standard Selection - (1) Red, (1) White
1997 Peter Lehmann Shiraz - Australia
1997 Peter Lehmann Semillon - Australia
Peter Lehmann Winery: Leading the Barossa
"Would you do me the courtesy of tasting our wine?" the robust voice peeled from the other end of the phone. It was a voice that embodied every bit of South Australia. "If you don’t like me wine, you don’t have to buy it. Just don’t throw me out on my arse, like the last buggers did. You can be polite about, you know…say thank you, and show me the door. I’ll leave without wrecking the joint, I promise...of course, if you do like them," he boomed, "I’m going to ask you to lighten your wallet a bit."
Thus began our relationship some 16 years ago, with the affable Peter Lehmann. Beyond the wit was the reality: high quality Australian wines were unknown entities outside their native land, and they were a tough sell. Australian wines were also in need of direction. The larger-than-life Lehmann was already one of Australia’s most talented winemakers, and he had been "chosen" to lead the Barossa Valley and its hundreds of independent growers to the promised land of international recognition. Through dedication, hard work, meticulous selection, and a zealot’s faith, Peter Lehmann has led the Barossa Valley, South Australia’s leading fine wine region, to the forefront of international acclaim.
Barossa born and bred, the man’s knowledge of this special corner of the planet and its wines is without a doubt encyclopedic. So his verdict on the vintage as well as the new bottles which bear his name, is as much an accolade as the hundreds of trophies and medals he has won in the last half century. He draws on the vineyards of some 130 growers across the Barossa where the combination of hard soils and abundant sunshine yields grapes of remarkably intense flavor and depth to produce a Shiraz which is at once powerful and yet soft and very approachable. Barossa and Shiraz are as synonymous as salt and pepper and the 1996 is the essence of Barossa Shiraz.
One sip of Peter Lehmann’s Semillon, a full, dry Graves-style white wine, or his decadent, fleshy Shiraz, a wine that seems to have not even a hint of an angle, will tell you why this winery is now so popular. Whether it be his magnificent Cabernet Sauvignon that some say recalls California’s silver Oak Cabernet or the late harvest, or botrytised Semillon that resembles the great wines of Sauternes, Peter Lehmann doesn’t miss a beat.
A Man of the Soil with Gold in his Glass
Back in 1948 a young Peter Lehmann worked his first vintage in Australia’s premier wine region, the Barossa. Half a century later, his hands-on enthusiasm is undimmed. This year he spent every day of the vintage in the weightbridge house of the winery where he made a final inspection of each batch of grapes from growers. Peter Lehmann’s is much more than a story of heritage and continuity. Wine has been made in the Barossa, an hour’s drive from the South Australian capital of Adelaide, for more than 150 years.
But in 1978, calamity threatened. A grape surplus meant the 200 independent grapegrowers, some of them fourth and fifth generation descendants of the first settlers, might not be able to sell their harvest. Peter Lehmann set up his winery in 1978 when he learned the multinational company which employed him would not be buying grapes from the independent growers who are the backbone of the Barossa. In essence, the company was reneging on a longstanding commitment to the grape growers.
Angered by what this meant and loyal to his grapegrowers, Peter Lehmann ultimately left the large company where he was manager/winemaker to buy the grapes himself and sell the resultant wine under his own label. Gradually, and with not a few anxious moments on the way, Lehmann’s venture grew into the Peter Lehmann Winery of today, where his eldest son Doug is the managing director.
Barossa Shiraz: An Australian Superstar!
The ancient Romans took the Shiraz wine grape from the Middle East to the Rhone Valley and so created what became some of the great wines of France. Cuttings were brought to Australia from southern France in the 19th century. In the Barossa, spared the phylloxera parasite which ravaged vineyards elsewhere, these 19th century Shiraz vines became the oldest shiraz vineyards in the world.
Old vines and the knowledge acquired with them produces wines which are astonishing and sumptuous in their intensity. Reaching for words to describe their impact, connoisseurs invoke everything from berries and black pepper, to spice and plums, chocolate and cedar. They have aromas and flavors which remind you simultaneously of summer sunshine and the scent of rich earth after rain. Shiraz, though, really needs no adjective save superstar...and Peter Lehmann certainly makes great Barossa Shiraz.
Tasting Notes: The 1996 Peter Lehmann Shiraz is a deep, thick, rich potion that exhibits a fine bouquet of black fruits, spice, woodlands and bark – the telltale scents of fine Syrah. Although, young, and capable of 5-10 years of aging, the Lehmann Shiraz is already hedonistic and crammed with lush, pure fruit flavors – not sugar. Scamless and lovely, with a long finish, Peter Lehmann Shiraz is pure pleasure in a glass, right to the last, haunting drop. And what a pity is to drink this wine up, long before it’s even at its prime, but it is so good already...why wait? Just open it about an hour before serving.
Accompaniments: Spring lamb, a juicy red steak, or just about anything else you would grill on a "barbie" makes for an award-winning meal with a bottle of Peter Lehmann Shiraz. In fact, we’ve opened a bottle of this succulent Shiraz to have with an uninspiring cache of leftovers, just to remind us how wonderful wine can be, and just how special a Monday evening can become. Simply stated, the 1996 Peter Lehmann Shiraz is a crowd pleaser. It tastes so good that you won’t have to fuss over what to serve it with, just enjoy it. Many thanks to Peter Lehmann for many a pleasurable evening.
Semillon is a star, as well as a staple in its native Bordeaux. Whether it be the fine dry white of Graves, or the nectar of Sauternes, it is Semillon that provides panache and power, imbuing the best white wines of Bordeaux with the ability to age and mature to noble perfection. Grown throughout most of southwest France, Semillon is also widely cultivated in Australia and California, while Australia prefers a Semillon/Chardonnay blend. However, recent varietal bottlings on both sides of the Pacific have serious wine tasters clamoring for more of this varietal’s nectar.
More widely cultivated in most Australian wine regions than Chardonnay, Semillon has a long tradition of excellence in Australia, dating back more than 150 years when cuttings from Bordeaux were brought to the "Land Down Under".
Tasting Notes: Scents of melon: cantaloupe, crenshaw and honeydew dominate the 1997 Peter Lehmann Semillon, while bold, rich flavors reminiscent of ripe melon, lemon cream, fig, and vanilla dazzle the palate. On the finish, dry, lemon-mineral flavors linger in the mouth for at least 20 seconds after you swallow. Unlike many Australian Semillon, which are often semi-sweet, cloying unbalanced concoctions, the Peter Lehmann remains true to its Bordeaux origins, producing a dry, distinctive wine that gives many of its pricey Bordeaux counterparts a run for their money. In fact, the Peter Lehmann Semillon is a better wine than most white Graves; it’s bolder, richer, riper, and better focused. Kudos to Peter Lehmann for such a noble white wine.
Accompaniments: We can think of no better complements to Peter Lehmann’s 1997 Semillon than a plate full of freshly prepared prawns or a steamed lobster in a freshly drawn butter sauce. Both dishes beg for bold flavors and crisp citrus and mineral tones to cut through the natural "gras" of the sea’s scavengers. The Peter Lehmann Semillon delivers on all accounts. Another award winning pairing involves a grilled, marinated tuna steak with soy, lime, and fresh herbs. Again, this flavorful marriage of the sea’s mouth-filling flavors to the Peter Lehmann Semillon, provides the taster with an incomparable match. As this Semillon ages, it will take on an even greater depth of flavor that will complement hardy seafood pastas and white meats in rich cream sauces.
"As you like it, now or later."
Twelve Weeks of Magic at Peter Lehmann
For about 12 weeks, from the middle of February, it’s easy to spot a Barossa winemaker...they’re are the ones with the purple hands. At Peter Lehmann, winemaking is a hands-on job in the fullest sense of the phrase.
"Our winemaking starts in our growers vineyards," says Peter Lehmann. "We are blessed with the right amount of rain at the right time, a relatively slow summer ripening period with a few bursts of top-up hot days which give our winemakers lovely batches of grapes to work their magic on."
With the grapes being often harvested at night to ensure maximum flavor retention, the winemaking process begins with Peter Lehmann himself at the weighbridge where he makes a final inspection of a year’s painstaking work by a corps of independent growers. The grapes are loaded into the pit then crushed and de-stalked and pumped into a "potter" for fermentation...the process where by with the addition of yeast the juice begins its fermentation and converts the fruit sugar in the grapes into wine.
Throughout the fermentation process, there is continual analysis by the winery laboratory people, as well as a daily tasting by the winemakers, of all ferments. The initial fermentation lasts somewhere between 7-12 plus days. For the best Shiraz and Cabernet fruit, about two-thirds of the way through the fermentation process, the free run fermenting juice is transferred to new oak barrels to complete fermentation. Barrel fermentation adds to the flavor complexity of the finished wine and helps soften both the fruit and the oak tannins.
On completion of the fermentation when the wine is "dry" (that is the fruit sugars have been converted into alcohol) the wine is assessed, racked and then filled back into barrels for maturation in the cellar. While this is a simplistic exploration of red winemaking at Peter Lehmann Wines, the process is magic...a marriage of science, technology and artistry where the growing of grapes and the making of wine are closely analyzed and assessed by both the viticultural and winemaking teams from maturation to bottling.
For Members Only
Give Your Friends FREE Beer, Wine, Cheese, Chocolate, Cigars & Flowers!
Through our Customer Appreciation Program
Your name has real value to your friends, co-workers, and family members! Every time a friend, family member, or anyone else you know joins any one of our clubs, [or gives a gift] for 3 months or longer, we'll give them 50% off of their first month, but only when they mention your name. And we'll also give you 50% off your next month too which can either be applied towards your current membership or you can try one of our other Clubs out! (We can add one more month to your order at 50% off for prepaid memberships!)
The Fine Print: Members giving gift memberships do not qualify for referral credits and you can't give yourself a gift to qualify! This Program is mutually exclusive of any other promotions.
Membership Q & A
Note: Please do not use the web site to make any account related information changes such as address or billing changes, membership extensions, or terminations. To ensure timely processing of your request, please call us at 800-625-8238.
Q: What can I do if I’m having difficulty receiving my shipment at home?
A: You should consider having our discrete box delivered to your work location or to a neighbor 21 yrs. of age that can receive it for you. The box is brown corrugated cardboard and doesn’t say “Wine” on it anywhere. Consider having it shipped to your work location as many of our customers do.
Q: What should I do if I’m moving or want to extend my membership?
A: Please call us prior to the 9 th of the month to make all account related information changes such as address changes, membership extensions & terminations, or gift accounts desiring to continue their memberships. Address changes made after that time may require a repackaging and re-shipping charge and will incur a $5.00 service charge from UPS that will be charged to your account.
Q: What happens if my shipment is damaged?
A: If your shipment arrives damaged, please call us immediately toll free at 1-800-625-8238 and report the incident for a prompt resolution.
Q: What happens if my credit card is declined?
A: We will send you a courtesy notice asking you for an alternative payment method and your order will be temporarily suspended until we hear from you. As we incur a $ 2.00 re-processing fee each time your card does not clear, that charge is passed on to you.
Q: What happens if I join under a special incentive program and don’t stay a member for the entire term committed?
A: Not a problem. Although we want to do everything we can to keep you as a member, we will allow you to cancel your subscription early, however, you will be responsible to pay for the item which was given to you as part of the promotion. If you received a discount based on a specific term, the amount discounted will be charged to your card.
