Langmeil

Ripe blackberry and black cherry jam aromas lead. There's a spice and charred roast pan scrapings underbelly. It's a big, tannic wine with alcohol heat, oak and oodles of dark fruit.

Thanks to a drier than average growing season and spring frosts, 2019 is the smallest vintage in twenty years. The harvest was quick and conducted under hot, dry conditions threatening excessive sugar levels. Warm and dry was the antidote to disease, so what fruit got to the winery was in immaculate condition and fully ripe. There is only two percent viognier in the mix, but it does what it is supposed to do: lift the shiraz off the floor and give the wine a kickstart. The nose is aromatic with plums and blueberries mixed with soft, sweet fruit and plenty of savoury notes. It is a wine for the barbecue — rich, round and drinkable; it is suited to pork or beef favourites. The alcohol stabilizes at 14.5 percent as the wine ages for ten months in seasoned American and French oak—a great wine for summer backyard parties.