My very first review is from one of my favourite wineries, Langmeil, a Barossa winery with origins dating back to 1843.
Langmeil is home to what is believed to be the world’s oldest known Shiraz vines, the ‘Freedom’ vines which celebrate their 170th birthday this year, and the 152 year old ‘Orphan Bank’ Shiraz vines. Both are outstanding examples of the best of what the Barossa has to offer.
2011 was a challenging year in the Barossa with a very wet winter and above average summer rainfall. The conditions resulted in no ‘Freedom’ or ‘Orphan Bank’ being made in 2011 due to not being quite to the high standard that Langmeil demands. The good news is that the fruit from these vines had to go somewhere!
The ‘Valley Floor’ Shiraz has long been a favourite of mine. It offers fantastic value for money at $29.50 a bottle and shows all of the characteristics of a typical Barossa Shiraz.
It sources fruit from a number of vineyards in the Barossa from vines anywhere from nine to 120 years old, and spends 18 months in a combination of 13% new American oak, 5% new French oak and 82% seasoned American oak hogsheads.
My tasting was done with close friend Mark ‘Evil’ Calligeros, one of Adelaide’s pre-eminent lawyers and a fellow wine enthusiast.
The wine looks very inviting in the glass with a deep crimson colour. We paired it with Sizzling Beef and Salt & Pepper Pork from T-Chow in Adelaide’s China Town in the heart of the city – one of our regular haunts.
Mark and I detected plums and raspberry on the nose, while the tasting notes also mention chocolate, cedar, white pepper and spice.
On the palate, the wine shows the great spicy fruit that we were hoping for and were expecting. Mark also picked up on a hint of vanilla with his second glass.
The ‘Valley Floor’ is a fantastically well balanced wine with a rich, round finish with hints of pepper at the end. As the wine opened up, we both commented about it being everything that a Barossa Shiraz is known for, but also being decidedly easy to drink, even now in its infancy.
This wine’s structure will see it easily cellar for another 10 years if you have the will power!
It is easy to see why the staff at the Langmeil cellar door consider the Valley Floor to be the best Shiraz in the Barossa under $30, and it is pretty hard to argue against their logic. Do yourself a favour, grab a bottle of it and enjoy a fantastic wine at an even better price.
Visit Langmeil Winery for more details
Cheers,
Scott
