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Gary and Nick Farr are father and son, they make wine together but aren't afraid to go head to head when their opinions differ. Nick grew up amongst some of the world's most sacred vineyards, he knows about the land and found a magnificent little site, barely east of Lake Colac. Irrewarra is the vigneron's shangri-la, prepared for viticulture by generations of grazing and eons of the sobering south sea breezes, which stimulate vines to yield meagre harvests of parched little grapes, sleek of tannin and rich in flavour. Vintaged in excruciatingly limited lots, there are fully two styles of Irrewarra on offer, a grapefruit and oyster shell Chardonnay, a Pinot.. It's irrewarra by farr»
There are four tiny patches of vine at Scotchman's Hill, which have been mollycoddled by Robin Brockett, since the start of his tenure as chief winemaker in the 1980s. Excruciatingly limited after a strict pruning and rigorous sorting of fruit, they each yield a mere hundred cases of wine. Brockett has set aside the precious harvests of these superior blocks for his own label, a personal project to hand craft the finest of vintage, an exclusive range of the Bellarine's most elite single vineyard efforts. So besotted is Brockett by the spectacular quality of fruit from these four regal parcels, he has imported two 800 Litre Tuscan vinification Amphora from the.. Brockett begets the best of bellarine»
An Irish cobbler named Reilly settled into the tiny Clare Valley township of Mintaro circa 1856. He converted a stone barn into a homestead cottage. Reilly's Cottage served as the local cobbler's shop in the centre of the bustling town, which had boomed after the establishment of salubrious slate quarries. Almost 140 years later, the cottage has been restored to its former glory by relatives of Reilly, the family Ardill, once again it is a hive of activity, home to the eminent and award winning range of Reilly.. There once was a man named reilly»
Clonakilla are one of our nation's most eminent vineyard wineries, a tiny production operation, established by a CSIRO scientist at Murrumbateman, very near Canberra. It turned out to be a fortuitous planting, with a climate not dissimilar to Bordeaux and northern Rhone, the Clonakilla property now occupies a rank next to the mighty Grange on the prestigious Exceptional Langtons Classification, it yields vintages of Australia's most invaluable Shiraz. At $26.99, the estate's entry level belies its stature and excellence within the pantheon of great Australian wine, an essential experience this week for all enthusiasts, a canny choice for shrewd and judicious.. Here's what our most picky pundits prefer»

Langmeil Valley Floor Shiraz CONFIRM VINTAGE

Shiraz Barossa South Australia
A collation of fruit grown to blocks of new and old vines on the Barossa Valley floor, some up to 120 years of age, artfully vinified into the timeless style of honest, traditional Aussie Shiraz. Langmeil obtains much of its material from old, pre phylloxera and own rootstock vineyards throughout the region, in order to guarantee the quality and consistency of its wines. Ripe, rich plummy and dark cherry fruit with earthy tones and hints of spice, it displays fine toasty oak tannins in support of a medium to full bodied wine with splendid soft dry finish.
Available by the dozen
Case of 12
$371.00
The barely irrigated, old Barossa vineyards, blessed by exceptional soils and idyllic aspects, yield harvests of superlative Shiraz which reflect the character of each unique mesoclime. The choicest parcels are treated to a traditional open fermentation and basket press. Paul Lindner practices old world techniques with obsolete equipment to unlock and exploit full potential of flavours held in the grapes, triumphing in a powerful fruit driven wine that exhibits subtle complexity and discernible vineyard character. A minimal amount of handling and filtration preserves intense flavours, followed by transfer into a selection of seasoned and new French and American oak hogsheads for two years maturation.
Very deep crimson with purple hues. Lifted aromas of raspberry and satsuma plum are complimented by fine milk chocolate, vanilla and hints of butter, smoked and roasted nuances. Sweet primary fruits transfer to the palate which is full and well balanced with briary spice and fine firm oak tannins. The finish is very long, youthful and fruit driven.
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Langmeil
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.

Langmeil

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.

Langmeil

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.

Langmeil