Langmeil From the Vine to the Glass
★★ ★★★ James Halliday’s 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
Australian Wine Companion has rated Langmeil Winery five stars,
placing it amongst the very top echelon of Austalian wineries.
The Story of the Old Vine Gardens
Hidden around the Barossa are some little patches of ancient vines we call our Old Vine Gardens. Literally lovingly tended gardens of stumpy old vines whose survival is living tribute to our pioneering grape growers. Growing up in the Barossa I have always been fascinated by these gnarly old things that now produce the best wines we make at Langmeil.
The story of the Barossa’s Old Vine Gardens is now optimistic but has a somewhat chequered past, a bit like Langmeil itself. These precious and rare Old Vine Gardens were threatened with extinction in the 1980s. The infamous “vine pull scheme”,introduced after the wine industry suff ered a signifi cant decline and growers needed help to get them through troubled times,saw many Old Vine Gardens bulldozed.
When I was at school I keenly remember my Dad and Uncle and others getting so upset when they were being pulled up,but its only since I’ve been making wines myself that I truly realised how important they are. Our Old Vine Gardens are a beacon for what makes the Barossa special, a unique ‘terroir’as the French would call it.
If it were not for some like-minded Barossans promoting their uniqueness in the world of wine and showcasing the virtues of wines made from these Old Vine Gardens, almost all would have been lost. Remarkably, we believe that the Barossa is, in all likelihood, the home of the world’s oldest, surviving,pre-phylloxera Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards, at Langmeil and Penfolds respectively.
As fifth generation Barossans we are convinced that the best way to ensure the unique qualities of the Old Vine Gardens survive into future generations is to continue to make and showcase wines from these vineyards.
They are not just museum pieces, they are our best and most valuable vineyards. This is truly history-in-a-glass that is irreplaceable. To that end, Langmeil is part of a movement to create an offi cial register of Old Vine Gardens. Their potential to make some of the great wines of the world is what keeps all
of us at Langmeil, from pruner to picker and cellar rat to cellar door ‘schlukers’ doing what we do.
We trust that you will take as much pleasure in tasting, drinking and cellaring these Old Vine Garden wines as we do growing and making them.
Cheers,
Paul Lindner, family winemaker, and the Langmeil team
Langmeil The Freedom 1843 Shiraz
166 Year Old Vine Garden
Langmeil Orphan Bank Shiraz
100 – 140 Year Old Vine Gardens
Langmeil Jackaman’s Cabernet Sauvignon
45 Year Old Vine Garden
Langmeil Fifth Wave Grenache
55 Year Old Vine Garden
2007 Barossa Vintage Report - Paul Lindner, Winemaker
Mother Nature must keep a very close eye on the wine industry, she decided to help alleviate the excess wine
problem in Australia in the 2007 Vintage. Drought played the biggest part in lowering yield and restricting vine growth with frost aff ecting some vineyards in September ‘06. To top it off ,a very wet weekend at the end of January ‘07 saw some fruit splitting, leaving the Barossa with an average yield at least 50% lower. Quality, however, was still above average with the older and ancient vineyards performing quite well, considering the conditions.
It was defi nitely a vintage to keep me on my toes, with some vineyards ripening up to three weeks earlier than last year, others up to three weeks later, so vigilance in tracking fruit ripeness was paramount considering we only had half the fruit intake to maintain the Langmeil quality and style. All Old Vine Gardens were down substantially in yield due to smaller berry. However, quality across the board is exceptional with the result being similar to that of the ‘03 harvest: rich and intense, showing a slight dried fruit characteristic.
Winemaking Philosophy - Old Vine Gardens
Paul Lindner’s winemaking philosophy is to produce world class wine unique to Langmeil and the Barossa’s best Old Vine Gardens, using traditional Barossan dry-land farming practices, hand pruning and harvesting through to traditional winemaking in our cellars.
With techniques such as gently de-stemming the hand harvested fruit rather than crushing, open fermentation and basket pressing with no fi ning or fi ltration help Paul and team ensure the full potential of the fruit is captured with old fashioned minimal handling but labour intensive techniques. Langmeil’s preference is undoubtedly for fruit driven wines with subtle complexities which combine the individual vineyard characteristics.
The wines are made ‘palate first’, with structure and balance in mind off ering the imbiber the opportunity to enjoy Langmeil’s Old Vine Garden wines in their youth; but they also have the power and structure to age gradually and gracefully over many years, as previous vintages have shown.
Distributors
From Langmeil Winery
Taiwan
Adelaide Pacific Co., Ltd.
Contact Cathy Cheng
Address: 2F.,No.156,Sec.1,Fusing S.Rd.,Taipei,106,Taiwan, R.O.C
Phone: +886 2 27775779#160 Facsimile: +886 2 27115959 Email:wine@finewine.com.tw
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