Peter Lehmann Margaret Semillon 2006, Barossa Valley, Australia

Peter Lehmann Margaret Semillon 2006 comes from the Barossa Valley in South Australia. It is pale straw in colour with a slight green tinge at the rim, which normally indicates a young wine  - I had not expected that of a wine of this age. On the nose there concentrated aromas of cheesey lemon ( some thought lemon-grass) with a touch of apricot and a lime edge, finely tuned and intertwined. There is also a hint of wet straw - definitely not unpleasant!

On tasting it the lemon continues but with added grapefruit pith, green apple and underpinned by the firm zesty acidity. The texture is silky and mouth coating, this is a lovely wine and one to be savoured - foods to have with it, include chicken and fish dishes and many vegetarian foods - great !
The name of the wine 'Margaret Lehmann' is after a great woman behind the great man: wife, business partner, and champion of Peter Lehmann Wines and the Barossa. In the early 1990's Peter Lehmann  and Andrew Wigan, the wine maker, made monumental changes to the way Semillon was being made, opting out of oak ageing but adopting early picking to increase its ageability.
2006 was a very good vintage, this wine was picked slightly early to prevent going to full maturity ( so keeping the flavours produced fine tuned and fresh with low alcohol 11.5% ). 

The result is this lovely wine, it was sealed under screwcap, so allowing it to develop for many years to come. Traditionally released as a five year old wine when ready to drink, but will mature for a few years to come.

The grapes in the main come from about 185 local independent growers, Peter Lehmann Wines has its own vineyards, which only produce about 2% of its requirements.

This wine is available from Cheers Wine Merchants at a cost of  £13.99.
Score : 87

 

The Barossa Valley

The Barossa Valley has a great winemaking and grape growing heritage dating back to 1842 with a German influence who first settled here from Silesia and is home to some of the oldest vines in the world. In some families, there have been six generations of grape growers and winemakers. German culinary traditions and Lutheranism are still important aspects of the local culture; Barossa Valley even has its own German dialect, "Barossa Deutsch." Johann Gramp is said to have planted one of the first vineyards in the area, near Jacob's Creek. The Aldenhoven brothers and Joseph Gilbert are also thought to be some of the first growers in the Barossa Valley. Around the same time, Dr. Christopher Penfold moved to the valley, bringing with him some vine cuttings from France. He planted them near his new house and became a grower as well as a physician. Several other vineyards were established in those early years, including Joseph Seppelt's Seppeltsfield and Auguste Fiedler's vineyard, now part of the Château Tanunda estate.

The Barossa Valley is about 35 miles northeast of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. The North Para River runs through the middle of the region. The climate is ideal for full bodied red wines, fortified wines and robust white wines and is said to be Mediterranean, but some of the higher areas can bedescribed as Continental. Barossa Valley is about 35 miles northeast of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. The North Para River runs through the middle of the region.

The Barossa region produces a great variety of wine, with the main styles being Chardonnay, Riesling, Semillon, Grenache, Mourvedre, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. One important fact is that the Barossa Valley is Phyllowera free due to strict quarantine rules and working with local residents and visitors, South Australia even has an official board dedicated to these tasks, the Phylloxera and Grape Industry Board of South Australia, which works with growers and winemakers to prevent infestations and promote use of phylloxera- and nematode-resistant rootstocks. The first vines planted were of course Phylloxera free.