TASTING NOTES
Aromatic and finely etched, this Shiraz combines vivid scents of blackberry, pepper, elderberry and violets with a firm, muscular structure. An appetising dryness offsets the rich ripe fruit. Thrilling, dynamic Victoria Shiraz.
PRODUCER
Lethbridge Wines is a boutique producer specializing in highly terroir- driven wines from some of the best vineyards in Geelong, chosen after an exhaustive search in the mid-1990s. With total quantity capped at 5,000 cases, the focus is on quality and individuality, and environmental sustainability is also key: Lethbridge’s own vineyard is farmed biodynamically, and the winery design is minimal-impact, requiring no heating or cooling. Lethbridge is garnering critical acclaim and a cult following in Australia, and Berkmann is honoured to be their first importer worldwide.
VINEYARD
The fruit for this wine was sourced from vines over thirty-five years old at Mount Duneed, one of the first vineyards to be planted as Geelong winemaking re-emerged in the 1960s. The vines yielded just one tonne per acre (about 17hl/ha).
WINERY
The grapes were destemmed and given eight days’ pre-fermentation maceration until the wild yeast fermentation began. This took place over seven days in 500-litre open vats, with daily plunging; temperatures peaked at 30oC. The wine was then pressed straight to barrel (with twenty-five percent new oak) for malolactic and eleven months’ ageing. The wine was bottled unfiltered.
AWARDS & PRESS
“Vivid colour; a potent, unequivocally full-bodied shiraz, reflecting its place (in Geelong) and its maker to equal degrees; there is an abundance of black fruits, licorice and bramble, welded together by powerful tannins.” – 95 points, James Halliday Australian Wine Companion, September 2015