Australia
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2019 Peter Lehmann Layers, Adelaide White
GL203
Taste Notes:
49% Semillon , 20% Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains, 19% Gewürztraminer, 12% Pinot Grigio/Pinot Gris. The wine is pale yellow with a youthful green hue. On the nose, there are aromas of citrus, peach and white flowers with a hint of lifted spice. The finely-structured, lemon-tinged Semillon supports the soft floral aromatics of Muscat and the delicate spice of Gewürztraminer. The Pinot Gris provides texture and mouthfeel to the mid-palate and the finish is crisp and fresh.The innovative Layers blends use traditional Barossa varieties for wines that express the new face of the Barossa. Semillon provides a lemon-tinged backbone to support soft, floral Muscat aromatics and delicate Gewürztraminer spice. Pinot Gris brings texture.Vineyard:
Peter Lehmann Wines works with over 140 growers across the length and breadth of the Barossa Valley region, with access to over 750 individual vineyard sites. Grapes for this wine came from selected vineyards in the Barossa Valley with the Pinot Gris sourced from the Adelaide Hills.
Vinification:
Cold fermentation took place in stainless steel tanks prior to blending and early bottling which produced a lively, fresh yet complex white wine.
Producer:
Peter Lehmann, with 33 vintages already under his belt, 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. Since its first vintage, the Peter Lehmann winery has championed Shiraz and Semillon, the two great traditional varieties of the Barossa. The Layers blends use these two varieties as a base upon which to build a wine that expresses the new face of the Barossa, using varieties that are new or innovative. These smartly packaged wines show that while Peter Lehamann is a traditional winery, it continues to be as innovative today as it was 40 years ago.
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Shaw + Smith, `M3` Adelaide Hills Chardonnay
GL208
The 'M3' opens with aromas of white flowers, grapefruit, and white peach. Notes of brioche and toast add complexity to the elegant fruit. The palate is long and flavoursome, with great texture and bright acidity. Savoury, toasty nuances from the oak are beautifully integrated and linger on the finish.
Established in 1989 by Martin Shaw and Michael Hill Smith MW, Shaw + Smith's aim is to make contemporary, high quality wines that stand among the best of their type in Australia. The wines are made exclusively from fruit grown in the Adelaide Hills, one of Australia's coolest and most exciting regions. Shaw + Smith specialise in grape varieties suited to cooler climates, such as Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, and also make outstanding wines from Shiraz and Pinot Noir.
GOLD Sommelier Wine Awards 2018
Sustainable, Vegan, Vegetarian
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Distant Noises Chardonnay
GL207
Soft and rounded, with hints of stone fruit, tangerine and pithy citrus, lemon tarts, both the pastry and filling, and a little spice and hint of oak. Made by Tom Carson of Yabby Lake, who has been awarded for quality Pinot Noirs (and Chardonnays) probably more than any other Australian winemaker.
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Shaw + Smith, Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc
GL363
Pale lemon in colour. On the nose, this wine showcases vibrant lemon, lime and pink grapefruit characters along with green apple and a dash of fresh herbs. It has nice mid-palate weight and texture and a fine acidity. Bright and aromatic, it has become known as a benchmark for Adelaide Hills and Australian Sauvignon Blanc.
The Sauvignon Blanc grapes were sourced from the Shaw + Smith estate vineyards at Balhannah and Lenswood. The 35-hectare Balhannah vineyard sits at 340 – 380 metres above sea level and has free draining soils of sandy loam over red clay with underlying quartzite, shale and ironstone pebbles. The Lenswood vineyard covers an area of 20 hectares and is at an altitude of 455 - 500 metres above sea level. Soils here are brown loam over clay and broken shale. The vineyards are farmed sustainably to promote the best possible soil and vine health and the grapes are harvested by hand.
Shaw + Smith began over a long lunch in 1989 when cousins Martin Shaw and Michael Hill Smith decided to realise a long-held dream to make wine together. Their vision remains to make exciting, refined wines, exclusively from the Adelaide Hills, that rank among Australia’s best. The wines are made from a number of sites throughout the Adelaide Hills. They specialise in grape varieties suited to the cooler climate, namely Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Shiraz.
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Alpha Box & Dice ‘Golden Mullet Fury’ Semillon Riesling
GL634
You just don’t do a “half mullet” – you have to be all in. The mullet, like skin contact white wines, has been around for millennia. Things never go out of fashion, they just get re-discovered… it’s a cycle, see? The Buddhists talk of Samsãra, the endless cycle of birth, life and death, but AB&D know that to reach true enlightenment you need to grow that shaved head out, keep it short on top, grow out the back and rejoice in the pithy textures and heady perfumes of skin-contact white wine.
Golden Mullet Fury skin contact white wine has become a hallmark of AB&D wines. Notes of reserved lemon, curry leaf, nectarines, hint of marmalade on the nose. Racey acidity with chalky tannins and a real mouthwatering finish. Refreshing yet textural.
Try with Morroccan chicken, seafood and blue cheese.
The Semillon was handpicked, destemmed and plunged by hand, fermented until dry using native yeast. 3 weeks total skin maceration. Riesling was picked with >65% Botrytis affected grapes, pressed for 3 hours long and slow, wild fermented for 4 months in old barrels until dry, spontaneously going through full MLF. Semillon spent 12 months in barrique on full lees, Riesling spent 12 months in old oak then blended together for a further 12 months maturation in foudre.