Thursday evening saw the return of Curious Wines to the Cork wine tasting scene. In possibly our most exclusive (and expensive!) line-up to date, Emma Shaw of Langmeil (pictured below at home with her beloved black lab) hosted “Langmeil Barossa and the oldest shiraz vines in the world”, during which a very fortunate audience tasted nine premium wines, including an Australian icon, The Freedom Shiraz.

The line-up

Live Wire Riesling 2010 & Eden Valley Chardonnay 2010: Emma decided, being quite a sweet wine, that the Live Wire Riesling would be a good starter to whet the appetite. With many a little unsure of a wine labelled “medium sweet Riesling” (cue nightmares of Blue Nun), there were surprised heads all round. Despite being medium on the palate, it finishes on the drier side thanks to its vibrant, crisp acidity. As for the Chardonnay, I was delighted to note that we converted quite a few members of the ABC club (anything but Chardonnay).

Three Gardens SMG 2009 & Fifth Wave Grenache 2008: The SMG is our best-selling wine in the Langmeil range. Easy drinking and accessible, it’s got its foot back off the pedal just a little, and was adorned by those who like some restraint. The Fifth Wave was out first wine into ‘old vine’ territory. Opulent, rounded and incredibly smooth and juicy, it is produced from 55 year old vines. Terrific bang for your buck.

Blacksmith Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 & Jackaman’s Cabernet Sauvignon 2008: The Blacksmith was the oldest wine of the tasting, although it’s still youthful. I found it to be a great varietal example, herbaceous and cigar-box/tobacco like – arguably more of a food wine than the Jackaman’s. This, again, is where the old vine wines really stood out for their velvety concentration. Many picked this as their favourite wine of the night. More refined than the Blacksmith, although in fairness you would expect it be at double the price.

Valley Floor Shiraz 2008, Orphan Bank Shiraz 2008 & The Freedom Shiraz 2008: The final showdown was all about Shiraz. I think it would be fair to say the Valley Floor got a little lost against these two, not only because of the notch upwards in quality, but because it was nearing the end of the tasting and there was such anticipation for The Freedom. I have a glass of it here from a bottle that was left over last night and I can tell you it is absolutely singing! Check out this video on the ’07 from Tom Cannavan.

I was lucky enough to take home a quarter of a bottle of the Orphan Bank afterwards with half a packet of bread sticks. And, okay, I admit, it was even better than CHOCOLATE*! (*I am the chocolate monster). The bread sticks weren’t bad either.

And as for The Freedom, well, I was still tasting it half an hour after the tasting such was the length and depth in flavour. Certainly not a wine for the faint hearted, but again, the concentration really set it apart, and what I really loved was the balance of oak which brought a heavenly savoury edge. Some thought it needed another few years, I wouldn’t argue with that, but it still showed just why it’s become one of Australia’s icons.

Many thanks to Emma Shaw, and all our guinea pigs on the night, your support and enthusiasm was so much appreciated!

We’re delighted to announce our first tastings of the autumn season and give you the opportunity to taste an Australian icon.

It’s our great pleasure to welcome Emma Shaw of Australia’s Langmeil Barossa Winery to host two portfolio tastings, in Cork and Dublin, on the 15th and 16th of September.

The informally tutored tastings will tell the stories and history of the Barossa, including Langmeil’s own dedication to the heritage of this great wine region. There will be a tasting across the full range from Langmeil, including the 2008 ‘Freedom 1843′ Shiraz, from what are believed to be the oldest shiraz vines in the world and recently given one of the highest ever scores awarded by the world authority on Australian wine, James Halliday.

The tastings will be held on Thursday 15th and Friday 16th September:

Thursday 15th September 2011, 7.30pm-9.30pm: Rochestown Park Hotel, Douglas, Cork.
Tickets available from Curious Wines on 021 432 0233, or you can purchase online here.

Friday 16th September 2011, 7.30pm-9.30pm: Donnybrook Fair, Donnybrook, Dublin 4.
Tickets available from Curious Wines on 021 432 0233, and Simply Wines on 01 295 9730, or you can purchase online from Curious Wines here.

Tickets to each event are €15 per person and are available on a first come, first served basis.

Here’s a little insight from the Lindner brothers into what to expect for the 2010 vintage at Langmeil. Currently we only have two wines from the 2010 vintage, two Eden Valley whites, but in the video (about 2 minutes in) Paul has a sneaky taste of the 2008 Freedom Shiraz which was still in barrel when this was shot back in May of last year. In case you’re not already aware, it comes solely from what is believed to be the world’s oldest surviving Shiraz vineyard in the world. There’s a bottle up for grabs in this months contest.

The Freedom scored particularly well in James Halliday’s 2012 Australian Wine Companion, I’m just glad we managed to get some of it as there’s never too much to go around. The lads also taste the 2010 Eden Valley Cabernet, maybe one we’ll acquire when they release it (and if they want to give it to us). Paul believes that, on a whole, 2010 was the best vintage since 2005 with some wines expected to be the best in the last ten years, so we look forward to those. In the meantime, we’re going to enjoy the last five years of Paul’s hard work

Everyone at Langmeil must be going around with big smiles on their faces this month. For the seventh consecutive year, the Barossa Valley winery has retained its Five Red Star rating from James Halliday’s Australian Wine Companion 2012, placing it in the top 5% of premium Australian winemakers.

Finally I managed to nail down James Lindner, the Sales and Marketing manager at Langmeil, and one of Australia’s most passionate people! No really, Barossa is in his blood.

1. Congratulations on the recent Halliday scores. An astonishing 96 points for the Orphan Bank ’08 and 97 points for the Freedom ’08 are worth noting. Did you expect such scores and what was your highlight or surprise wine of the ’08 vintage?

It’s interesting with scores and reviews especially ones as positive as the recent James Halliday scores. We do rate James highly as he has 40 years experience with Australian wines and truly understands regionality and we feel that if there are ever scores to go on, this experience and understanding of regionality and regional style is a critical foundation for the experience required. As a winery we have always followed our belief of style based on generational knowledge which has inspired our representation or interpretation of the Barossa by sticking to these solid beliefs we feel our wines have what every wine needs – Soul, and if our actions and wines are noticed by our peers it’s a great bonus.

2. Obviously for the higher volume wines, you need to find fruit from elsewhere. For the Village series, where does the fruit come from and how do you ensure you’re getting the quality you need?

Our Village wines are produced to represent the villages of the Barossa and the diversity they bring, in fact there is something like 28 original villages and all based around the church. The idea is that these villages not only represent different communities but also the different climates, valleys and soils, which always bring different nuances to the wines.

Regarding volumes these wines are still small productions when comparing total productions to even some high end grand Cru and first growth wines, so this means we can ensure a quality level of our fruit that sets the class standards we offer in these wines.

To obtain such a diverse offering of fruit supply across 16 of these original villages we rely on the generational knowledge of family grape growers. The Barossa boasts some 750 families with half of them farming 10 hectares or less and this provides small family wineries like Langmeil to obtain a great cross section and with knowledgeable growers that have been on their land for generations offers experience in producing quality and varietal flavour profiles from each village area. The communication and liaising with these growers over the season is also critical and Paul Lindner, our winemaker, gets his hands dirty every year in all of our grower based vineyards which ensures we pick the grapes at their optimum for our style and flavour requirements.

3. Of some of the big names in the wine industry, you’ve met the hugely successful American wine retailer and social media guru, Gary Vaynerchuk. What was that like? Any other big personalities who you haven’t been able to forget?

Gary is an amazing guy, he has unbelievable energy and is a great advocate for talking to all wine lovers from any background and to anyone with a thirst for knowledge and a willingness to be educated, he is brilliant for our industry as are the many other people that wish to share and educate current and future wine lovers.

Big personalities, well in my mind, the people I have met are many having been fortunate to travel to the places that represent our wines. I suppose I don’t have to travel far though to mention some of the key influences of just my back yard, people like Robert O’Callaghan – Rockford Wines, Bob Mclean, The Lehmann family, actually the local list is endless, but one visitor a year that we look forward to seeing is Mark Taylor the Ex Australian Cricket Captain, he always brings a few mates and we have a great brunch, Local Shulz’s bacon, Rosie’s free range Eggs, and Linke’s sausages, drinking Langmeil Sparkling Shiraz, it makes for a great start to the day.

4. It must have taken great foresight when purchasing the Langmeil property and vineyards back in 1996. Have hopes and dreams been fulfilled since then? What does the future hold for Langmeil, anything new on the horizon?

Langmeil was conceived one night by three mates Chris Bitter, Carl and Richard Lindner and I believe it was Paul that first highlighted the old abandoned winery site. The site was not up for sale officially but these guys went and found the owners to see if they could broker a deal. The cost of purchasing the old site was a lot more than they had imagined and they didn’t have the money, so they suggested to the owners that they would be happy to lease the premises with an obligation to purchase the property at a set amount on a set date. If they could not raise the money by that set date they offered to walk away and give back the property with all the upgrades. Fortunately though they managed to purchase the property with two months to spare.

Since then our main goal was to make the best wine we could and this was where all the investment back into the winery first went and in under a decade James Halliday had placed Langmeil in the Top echelon of Australian fine wine producers by awarding us a 5 star rating.

So the words evolution not revolution sums up Langmeil, we will continue the journey of a fine wine producer, and do our best to make memorable moments in each wine with each vintage and trust in the 25 maybe 30 vintages left in this generation that future generations of the families involved will continue the legacy of these three mates.

5. Langmeil has been received really well by the Irish consumer, we’re delighted to have range. What do you see as the major selling point for the winery? How does Langmeil stand out from other producers in Barossa or the rest of the country?

I would like to say we are more about discovery than standing out from the crowd, this is what has made us, word of mouth between wine lovers, people that have tried our wines and then shared them with their friends they know love wine. We believe if you make a big noise lots of people listen but when people discover you they hear you and have more affinity with you.

We have a simple message and we always start with our good fortune of being born in the Barossa, so firstly the Barossa is one of the great wine regions of the world and people are still finding out what true Barossa is, so we preach the message of Barossa and back this up with our winemaking philosophies, which is something that we have inherited through being Barossan and being close to our winemaking mentors and privileged enough to have been in positions to hear their thoughts and shared wisdom, which they happily share. We have taken this knowledge to help form our own opinion and in the end that is what is in the bottle. Winemakers wines.

The slow road, but one that brings loyalty.

6. Finally, James, if you could no longer make wine in Australia, where would you go, and what would be your “desert island wine” if you had to pick one?

Interesting question, having visited a few countries through wine, it is a tough call but let’s open it up from just wine, as you really can emulate small winemaking through other beverages anywhere in the world. I have tried all sorts of fruit wines, beers, stouts, whiskeys, bourbons, tequila’s etc etc no matter what beverage there is someone doing it well somewhere and this means that anyone that really wants to can have a go making an alcoholic beverage of their choice. As an example, Paul was making his first reds in his back shed in the early 90’s.

So I would make whiskey in Ireland, oh and maybe some stout, ice wine in Canada, rum in the Caribbean, tequila in Mexico, I think you get the picture… but if I had a choice I would make one in the north of Italy for no other reason than this is where our Italian side of the family came from.

If I had only one bottle to drink before I died, I hope it was the best bottle we made at Langmeil over my life time here, so it can bring back fond memories of hopefully a rewarding life and trust it is a wine that could be the wine that other people could say would be their last.

He’s a very busy man, but a big thanks to James for giving up his time. Thanks also to Emma Shaw at Langmeil for her support to date. Click here to view the range, with 20% off those wines under €25 until the end of August.

For the seventh consecutive year, Langmeil Winery has retained its Five Red Star rating from James Halliday’s Australian Wine Companion, placing it in the top 5% of premium Australian winemakers.

James Halliday is considered the authority on Australian wine, so if you’re going to listen to the critics, you could do a lot worse than take a suggestion or too from him when it comes to the wine from down under. He, like US critic Robert Parker, uses a 100 point scoring system.

The highest score Halliday gave ANY wine in 2010 was 96 points. This included the likes of the Jim Barry Armagh, Glaetzer’s Amon-Ra and Penfolds Grange. This year, Langmeil’s Freedom Shiraz 2008 received an almighty 97 points, and their Orphan Bank Shiraz 2008 a brilliant 96 points. It wasn’t only at the high-end that Langmeil excelled. We were delighted, although not altogether surprised, that the Three Gardens SMG 2009 landed 90 points. A very solid score for a wine at that price level.

Langmeil’s highlights from the 2012 results

Langmeil Freedom Shiraz 2008 (97 points)

“Fractionally more developed colour than Orphan Bank; likewise picked before the heat and with exceptional depth, richness and intensity to its multifaceted and layered aromas and flavours; open-fermented, basket-pressed and matured for two years in two-thirds new French barriques. Excellent tannins. Both wines have wonderful drive and length.”

Langmeil Orphan Bank Shiraz 2008 (96 points)

“Strong crimson-purple; a top quality shiraz, picked before the heatwave and made using the same techniques as Freedom, and has similar intensity, focus and length; here only one-third new French barriques, but the oak is a positive contributor.”

Langmeil Jackaman’s Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 (94 points)

“A wine that honours its 60+-year-old vines, with hand pruning, hand picking, small bunch open fermenting, basket pressing and fermentation in French oak (50% new). The vintage posed a supreme challenge for cabernet but the wine passed the test with its redcurrant fruit and fine tannin support.”

Langmeil Valley Floor Shiraz 2008 (91 points)

“Opaque purple-red; a luscious rich and ripe (but not overripe) medium- to full-bodied Barossa shiraz, the plum, blackberry and prune flavours augmented by well integrated mocha/vanilla oak.”

Langmeil Three Gardens SMG 2009 (90 points)

“Relatively light colour, with good hue; a thoroughly amiable wine, the blend of Shiraz / Mourvedre / Grenache coming together well on the light to medium-bodied palate, with its spicy, juicy and soft tannins. Good balance.”

Highlights from Woodstock and Bleasdale Wineries

Bleasdale Powder Monkey Shiraz 2008 (95 points)

“Oak dominates the bouquet at first, but there is an underlying power of black fruits and graphite lurking beneath; the palate is incredibly solid and the concentration and complexity of the fruit undoubed;”

Bleasdale Generations Shiraz 2008 (93 points)

“Quite a dark personality is presented in this wine, with blackberry, tar, bitter chocolate and a touch of mint; the palate reveals a strong presence of dark fruits, and the oak and sweet fruit marry harmoniously on the mid-palate, with the savoury edge prominent on the finish. Diam.”

Bleasdale ‘T&M’ Tempranillo Malbec 2008 (90 points)

“A 60/40 blend, with cherry and plum tracking the two varieties allied with nuances of spice and chocolate, the tannins fine, the length good.”

Bleasdale Broad-Side Red Blend 2009 (89 points)

**Tasting notes yet to be released**

Woodstock ‘The Stocks’ Shiraz 2007 (96 points)

“This is a selection of the best barrels of shiraz from the century-old vines near the winery; the colour is good, the wine with a great array of spice, dark chocolate, black cherry and blackberry fruit; while only medium-bodied, it has outstanding length bolstered by fine, savoury tannins. 96 points.”

Woodstock Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 (90 points)

“Relatively early picking has paid dividends, injecting cassis/red fruit notes into the wine, the bouquet fragrant, the palate medium-bodied, tannins just within bounds.”

Woodstock Shiraz – Cabernet 2008 (90 points)

“While exuberant, has better balance and control than the 2006 Shiraz, the black fruits nicely tightened by tannins on the finish, dark chocolate in the background. Will develop well.”

Pictured, Langmeil directors Richard Lindner, Carl Lindner and Chris Bitter. 20% off all Australian wines under €25 until the end of August.

This month we’re only giving away one bottle for our August contest… but it’s a good un.

Planted way back in 1843 by blacksmith Christian Auricht, one of the first German settlers in the Barossa Valley, Langmeil‘s Freedom vineyard today contains the oldest surviving Shiraz vines in the world.

Just last week James Halliday awarded the 2008 vintage of Langmeil’s The Freedom 1843 Shiraz 97 points, one of the highest scores ever awarded by the esteemed critic and world authority on Australian wine.

Fancy a taste of 168 years of history? We’ve one bottle to give away in this month’s contest.

To win, you must be subscribed to the Curious Wines newsletter. We’ll be including a not-too-difficult question and instructions on how to enter in our August newsletter going out soon.

Just missed it? Sign-up here and you’ll automatically get it sent to you.

Langmeil’s Orphan Bank Shiraz is a wine with an amazing story behind it. Planted circa 1860, these Shiraz vines were to be torn up to make way for housing back in 2006. Fortunately, Langmeil caught wind of what was going to happen and offered to remove the vines free of charge. What may have seemed like a great deal for the developer turned out to be a masterstroke for Langmeil. They now had their hands on some of the world’s oldest Shiraz vines – the next step was digging them up and finding them a new home.

These orphans share a common ancestry with the Freedom vineyard, which Langmeil believe to be home of the world’s oldest surviving Shiraz vines, planted in 1843. The Freedom vines and the orphan vines had originally been planted in the same allotment: section 36, Hundred of Moorooroo.

When Christian Auricht died in 1860 the ‘family’ of Shiraz vineyard was split up. Now, with the assistance of Langmeil’s team of adoptive parents, the winery has been able to reunite the flock and bring them home. After a painstaking operation, each vine was dug up and replanted one by one, with a 95% success rate.

In August 2006 and again in June 2007 the vines were moved to a fertile patch of land on the banks of North Para River, now known as the Orphan Bank. This new site is adjacent to the Freedom vineyard. In the above video, James Lindner shows just how well the orphans have adapted to their new home. And oh boy, what a wine.

There is 20% off all Australian wines under €25, including Langmeil, until the end of August.

If you love Australian wine, July’s contest is for you.

This month, we’ve the stunning latest edition of James Halliday’s Wine Atlas of Australia to give away, the award-winning and definitive book on Australian wine, with information on more than 550 wineries from over 70 regions. Each section is sumptuously illustrated, with analysis on each region, the grapes grown, the soil, the climate and the winegrowing history, and an introduction to the most respected Australian wineries and their signature labels.

Include two of our favourites from one of James Halliday’s 5 star wineries Langmeil – the 2009 Three Gardens and the brand new 2010 Eden Valley Chardonnay – plus a topographic map of the Barossa Valley, and you’ve July’s prize pack.

To win, you must be subscribed to the Curious Wines newsletter. We’ll be including a not-too-difficult question and instructions on how to enter in our July newsletter going out soon.

Just missed it? Sign-up here and you’ll automatically get it sent to you.

Good luck!

Continuing our Australian theme for the month, our October prize is a must-have for all lovers of wine from the land Down Under.

James Halliday is the authority on Australian wine with an unparalleled knowledge of the industry gained over 40 years making, tasting, judging and writing about wine. His Australian Wine Companion has become the indispensible handbook for professional and amateur enthusiasts for this increasingly diverse and ever-more exciting country.

The 2011 edition is just out, with a staggering 1,487 winery reviews, ratings on over 6,000 wines and a whole lot more on the regions, vintages and information for visitors.

We’ve one copy to give away along with two bottles from one of Halliday’s top-rated 5 red star wineries, including a 93-pointer!

To enter, all you need to do is answer this simple question:

Langmeil’s Freedom Shiraz is produced from what are believed to be the world’s oldest surviving Shiraz vines, in the Freedom vineyard, Barossa Valley. In what year were these vines planted?

Simply leave your answer along with your name in the comments below and you’re in the draw. Just remember to leave us your email address when you’re leaving your comment – email addresses will not be displayed publicly and will not be used for anything other than contacting you if you win.

One lucky winner will be pulled from the hat from all entries here and on our Facebook page where you can also leave your answer. Best of luck!

Congratulations to Jonathan Flack, winner of our September Indian Summer Chillin’ contest. A super snazzy wine cooler and two bottles of Muddy Water’s finest are on their way to you, Jonathan.

Langmeil is often muttered in the same sentence as Penfolds and Glaetzer Wines. Regarded not just as one of the best wineries in Barossa Valley, it is simply one of the best there is. I firmly believe this myself, but I’m also echoing the words of the people who should know. Firstly the consumer, secondly the wine critic.

Highly rated by Robert Parker, and again awarded the coveted 5+ star rating by Australia’s authority in wine, James Halliday, we’re just happy the Australians let us bring some of it to Ireland.

The land on which Langmeil Winery now stands was purchased by a 36 year old German blacksmith, Christian Auricht. He and his family arrived in South Australia in 1838 after emigrating from eastern-central Europe (Silesia) to escape religious persecution.

The Freedom

In 1843 he planted a Shiraz vineyard which survives to this day. Believed to be one of the world’s oldest surviving Shiraz vines, remarkably, they are still producing low yields of super-concentrated fruit to this day, which is going into their flagship wine, The 1843 Freedom Shiraz.

Auricht’s grandson was the first to build a winery on the land in 1932, long before it became known as Langmeil. By 1996 the it had fallen into the hands of three local mates whose families have lived in the Barossa Valley for several generations: Richard Lindner, Carl Lindner and Chris Bitter. They restored the old buildings and beautified the gardens. After several months of tender loving care, The Freedom vineyard was successfully revived. Langmeil’s first vintage was harvested in 1997.

Orphan Bank

There is more than one Old Vine Garden. The Orphan Bank vineyard consists of vines exceeding 140 years. A first for the Barossa Valley, the Orphan Bank vineyard is the result of transplanting over 300 vines from a 140 year old vineyard in Tanunda which was destined to be destroyed. It took 18 months to re-plant the vines on the south bank of the North Para River at Langmeil Winery.  The operation was 95% successful and the first post-transplant fruit was picked in 2008.

The Fifth Wave

Another plot of land situated in the southern reaches of the Barossa Valley, just out of the town of Lyndoch, showcases a diversity of soil profiles and aspects. The Fifth Wave Grenache vineyard is located here, named so because this is now the 5th generation of Barossa winemakers. Planted in 1953 on deep sandy soil, the dry grown 4.5 acre vineyard produces a rare, low yielding crop making for very small parcels of premium Grenache.

Trust me when I say, it really doesn’t get much better than Langmeil. The best thing is, you don’t have to be a millionaire banker to drink Langmeil, starting at a very reasonable €11.99 per bottle for the month of March. Buy two save up to €10 on Langmeil.