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2003 Peter Lehmann Southern Flinders Shiraz

Southern Flinders Ranges, South Australia, AUSTRALIA
$19. 99
Bottle
$239.88 Dozen
Cellar: 4 - 5 Years (2010-2011)
ABV: 14.5%
Closure: Cork
An Exceptional Limited Release Shiraz of Extraordinary Value!

Peter Lehmann enjoys a formidable reputation in the wine industry, being generally recognized as a legend in his own lifetime! This high regard is due to his loyalty to his mates during times of economic adversity, and like Simpson and his donkey on the battlefront, Lehmann is hailed a hero.

Born in 1930, to a fifth generation German family, Lehmann started his wine career as a 17-year-old boy at Yalumba, under the guidance of Rudi Kronberger. By 1960, Lehmann had moved to Saltram where he stayed until 1979, when multinational conglomerate Seagram purchased the Company. The market was severely depressed, at this time, with a massive over supply of grapes looming for the 1980 vintage. The new owner ordered Lehmann to renege on his hand shake contracts leaving loyal growers to face great economic hardship. Some of these growers had been with the company for 20 years, and now found their fruit unwanted. Lehmann, however, was not prepared to let his mates down, and gambled on bailing them out by forming a new company, Masterson Wines – a company aptly named after a fictional gambler Sky Masterson. Lehmann gathered around him a skilled team, borrowing funds from friends and relatives. The rumours of eminent failure were persistent, Lehmann was not surposed to succeed. He continued to operate from his position in the weighbridge, supervising the quality of the incoming fruit and directing it to the crusher after evaluation.

Today, the boom bust cycle is again set on the bust mode, after the boom of the 90’s. The warnings are out. Wine Growers Australia has forecast that grape prices will hit rock bottom next year, with spot market prices falling to between $100-$150 per tonne, compared with production costs of $200-$800 per tonne. Grape growers are being encouraged to mothball their vineyards as the industry faces a 500,000 tonne surplus for 2007. Growers are being asked to prune back their vines severely, reducing bud numbers to the point where the vine is kept alive but will not bear fruit. The process is called sleep and sheep – the sheep being encouraged to run amongst the dormant vines.

The Southern Flinders Ranges Wine District has only emerged in the last 25 years. It is located to the east and north east of Port Pirie. The region is regarded as a natural extension of the Clare Valley with which it shares many geological features. The vineyards are located at 400-500 meter altitude. The climate is best described as being warm and dry, being subjected to the cooling sea breezes of the Spencer Gulf and the southern winds from Gulf Saint Vincent. The fruit for this exceptional wine was sourced from Malcom Orrock's Vineyard, located near Murray Town on Mount Remarkable. Peter Lehmann has some 180 loyal growers contracted to him, mainly in the Barossa Valley. Each vintage, Chief winemaker Andrew Wiggin selects an exceptional parcel of fruit from individual vineyards for bottling.

A total of 1000 cases of this wine was produced, most of which will be exported. We have managed to get hold of a limited parcel for Australia. This wine has the potential of creating a new benchmark for the Southern Flinders district and is a 'must have' taste experience. The Peter Lehmann, Southern Flinders Shiraz was tasted in a line up of pre-release wines, such as 2001 Stonewell (94/100), 2002 Mentor (96/100) and 2002 8 Songs (95/100), great wines from very strong vintages at very high prices, scoring an impressive 95/100. This has to make the Southern Flinders Shiraz an exceptional buy.

Tasting Note:
A wine that is voluptuous with flavour. Opaque black crimson colour with black crimson hue with strong colour cling to the glass walls. Top notes of violets, followed by blackberry, vanilla and liquorice allsorts creating a perfumed sniff. Generous, joosy, mouthfilling flavour filled palate. Dark chocolate, vanilla, spice, liquorice and confectionary fill the mouth, overlaid by ripe blackberry fruit. Fine grained tannins. Excellent balance. Very long aftertaste.
Cellar 4-5 years (2010-2011)
Alc/Vol: 14.5%