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Mission On The Mount»
The mean gravelly soils and invigorating climes of Mount Barker of the Australian southwest, were identified during the 1960s by the world's leading viticulturalists, as a place uncannily similar to the great terroirs and clime of Bordeaux. The pioneering vines of Forest Hill were the first ever planted here, sired from rootstock of ancient Houghton clones, inaugurally vintaged by the illustrious Jack Mann in 1972. The Cabernet and Riesling of Forest Hill were promptly distinguished by multiple trophy victories and praised by gentleman James Halliday as the most remarkable wines to come out of the Australian west. Forest Hill have remained a source of the most.. Softly spoken wonders from the west»
Man On A Mission»
Graeme Melton and a mate were travelling across South Australia in 1973, their EH Holden was in dire need of maintenance and Graeme took up casual work at a passing winery. The site supervisor was Peter Lehmann and young Graeme had his epiphany on the road to Barossa Valley. Lehmann suggested that Graeme change his name to Charlie and take the pilgrimmage to Vallee Rhone. Charlie became prepossessed with the culture of old vines Grenache, Shiraz and Mourverdre. He returned to the Barossa, at a time when old vineyard fruit was made into flagon Port and growers were destroying their historic sites in return for government grants. Charlie emabarked on a crusade.. Melton makes a mean mourvedre»
Welcome To Bellvale»
Airline pilots make surprisingly good wine. Their appreciation of the sciences, a respect for the weather and a bird's eye view of the land, all invaluable to the winemaker's art. John Ellis would take every opportune weekend away from his regular New York Paris route, to pursue a passion for viticulture. He planted the first commercial Cabernet Merlot vines in the Hamptons and found time between trans atlantic flights to work vintages amongst the Grand Cru vineyards of La Bourgogne. Ellis ultimately made the great lifelong sea change in favour of our land downunder. He settled on a farmstead outside Leongatha, amongst the slow ripening pastures of Gippsland.. Placing pinot amongst the pastures»
Gift Of Grampians »
Halls Gap Vineyard was planted 1969, along the steep eastern slopes and parched rocky crags of Grampians Ranges, at the very beginning of a renaissance in Victorian viticulture. Since early establishment in the 1860s by the noble Houses of Seppelt and Bests, the region had earned the most elite peerage, a provenance of extraordinary red wines, bursting with bramble opulence and lined with limousin tannins. The Halls Gap property had long been respected as a venerable supplier to the nation's most illustrious brands. Seppelt and Penfolds called on harvests from Halls Gap for their finest vintages. Until 1996, when it was acquired by the late, great Trevor Mast,.. Land of the fallen giants»

Langmeil Freedom 1843 Shiraz CONFIRM VINTAGE

Langmeil Freedom 1843 Shiraz - Buy
Shiraz Barossa South Australia
Excellent Langtons Classification. The Freedom Block was established 1843, planted to vine by Lutheran settlers, Christian Auricht and his kin, early pioneers who were escaping persecution and war, just seven years after South Australia was colonised. They found freedom to work, worship and prosper in the Barossa. The Freedom has not only survived but thrives to this day, it yields an extraordinary Shiraz wine. These thick trunked, dry grown, low yielding, gap toothed old vines on the banks of North Para River, may be the oldest surviving Shiraz in Australia.

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A single vineyard wine of rare excellence. When the current operators acquired Freedom, these sacred parcels had lain unattended for almost a decade. After four years of devoted hand pruning and careful viticulture, the precious vines were nursed back to manageable conditions. These dry grown, hand pruned old vines yield less than two tonnes per acre, surrendering only the most exceptional grapes exhibiting extreme intensity of flavour. Grapes are hand picked, gently crushed and treated to an open fermentation and basket pressing into a selection of mostly new French oak barriques for two years maturation, handled in such a way as to preserve the integrity of the Freedom 1843 vineyard.
Medium to deep red crimson with purple hues. Satsuma plum and lifted raspberry perfume mingle with lovely biscuit and vanillin French oak, hints of menthol and sweet spice. Rich, sweet fruit flows onto the palate, balanced by fine, well integrated French oak. Velvety smooth yet youthfully austere tannins and good acidity adds to the balance with the sweet and slightly briar spice flowing through onto the long and bright fruited finish.
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In 1836 George Fife Angas, Chairman of The South Australian Company, was approached by the Lutheran people of Silesia, who were fleeing Prussian oppression and seeking a new homeland

He sent his chief clerk, Charles Flaxman, to Prussia and, after a favourable report, chartered two ships to take the migrants from Hamburg. As each ship arrived in Adelaide, the emigrants were dispersed to various settlements in the vicinity. After much negotiation, Pastor August Kavel secured land in the Barossa Valley to congregate the migrants, and in 1842 the village of Langmeil was established.

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One of the new settlers was a 32 year old blacksmith, Christian Auricht. With his wife and four children he settled first in Glen Osmond, then in Klemzig and finally in the new village of Langmeil. There he acquired the largest allotment of land. Once cleared he planted a mixed fruit orchard and a Shiraz vineyard. The property remained with the family until the 1930s when it became a winery called Paradale. By early 1970 Paradale had been taken over by Bernkastel Wines. Bernkastel continued its business until 1988 when its crushing operations ceased and by 1993 the cellar door was closed.

The property was purchased in 1996 by three local businessmen whose families have lived in the Barossa Valley for several generations, Richard Lindner, Chris Bitter and Carl Lindner. They restored the remaining old buildings and the village well, refurbished the winery and named it Langmeil, after the original village. Some of Christian Auricht's original vines still remained, a 31/2 acre patch of the 1840s Shiraz, albeit neglected. The most important task was to revive them. The vines are dry grown, and after careful tending Langmeil's first vintage was hand picked in 1997.

Like many wine growing regions, the Barossa has had its dark days. One of the worst was in the mid 1980s. Australia was experiencing a glut in wine production and export markets were very small. In South Australia the surplus was such that the government believed they had to intervene. They offered a bounty of $1500 per acre to growers to pull out their vines and they could not replant for seven years. The purchase price of grapes hit an all time low of $150 per tonne for premium Shiraz (in 2003 premium Shiraz earns $5000 per tonne). A lot of local growers accepted the offer and many prime vineyards disappeared.

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Fortunately, a small group of Barossa winemakers understood the significance of the rare old vines and refused to destroy them. They lobbied and educated the consumer, the media and the government and promoted this unique aspect of the region. A delegation of Masters of Wine was invited from England to sample Australia's finest wines including some from the Barossa. This was the turning point. The praise the wines received brought big orders. The United Kingdom started what is now a global demand for Barossa and Australian wines.

It is said great wine starts in the vineyard. Langmeil's commitment to 100% premium Barossa wine certainly upholds this philosophy. Paul Lindner, chief winemaker, is involved in the winemaking process from vine to wine. Through liaison with growers, he sees how the seasons affect the fruit; he learns then recommends the best practices to ensure optimum quality. By keeping individual vineyard parcels separate throughout the winemaking process, he can assess each vineyard for consistency and quality every vintage.

Such differentiation also highlights the varietal characteristics of each subregion. This process is crucial in ensuring wellbalanced wines with subtle complexities. Langmeil obtains much of its fruit from old, prephylloxera and own root vineyards throughout the region, in order to guarantee the quality and consistency of its wines. Pruning methods vary according to variety and region within the Barossa. The most common methods are Rod and Spur (Cane Pruning) and permanent arm Spur Pruning.

To maximise the quality of the fruit and capture the essence of the vineyards the right equipment is needed. Langmeil is a small, family run business and it has taken a few years to acquire all the equipment required to create our special styles of wine. The synergy of new and old world equipment has helped to capture the characteristics in each variety and protect the subtleties of individual vineyards. Thus the high quality of Langmeil's wine is assured.

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