Peter Lehmann Very Special Vineyard 1885 Barossa Valley Shiraz 2018

Region: Barossa, South Australia

Vintage: 2018

Bottle size: 75cl

Grape: Shiraz

ABV: 14.5%

Notes: Vegetarian

The colour is bright with a deep crimson hue. The bouquet is abundant with dark plums, spice and bright chocolatey mint. The palate is typical 1885, soft and elegant with a long, intense blue-fruited finish.

Ebenezer, in the north-west of the Barossa, is home to Ralph and Angela Schrapel who are sixth generation guardians of a very special patch of Shiraz planted by their forebears in 1885. Planted on its own roots on red brown earth soils, at over 300m above sea level, this four acre block is home to extremely low-yielding, gnarled and twisted Shiraz vines which produce top-quality grapes with great intensity of flavour.

Peter Lehmann 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. Crafted by the next generation of Peter Lehmann winemakers, ‘The Barossan’ range highlights the outstanding fruit sourced from the many fabled sub-regions across the Barossa Valley.