20 Years of Lehmann Stonewell Shiraz 1987 - 2006 - 22.05.09

20 Years of Lehmann Barossa Stonewell Shiraz
1987 – 2006
Hosted by Andrew Wigan
ANdAZ, London EC2M 7QN

21st May 2009

The Tasting

“When we first started making wine at Peter Lehmann in 1980, we only made on Shiraz. But we knew that the Shiraz from some vineyards was better than others – more intense, muscular, and deeper in colour. We’d seen it in the vineyards. ‘Little black jewels’ we called them. Peter and I couldn’t keep our minds off those special parcels of grapes, so in 1987 we made a separate Shiraz. We called it Stonewell, after the district we believed showed the characters we admired in the best of Barossa Shiraz.”
Andrew Wigan, Chief Winemaker

On Thursday 21st of May 2009 a small, select group of forty press, specialists and long term supporters of Stonewell and Peter Lehmann wines gathered at the beautiful ANdAZ hotel (formally The Great Eastern) to join Lehmann head winemaker Andrew Wigan for a very special journey through time. A journey that would take in 20 vintages of this, one of the Barossa’s great iconic wines.

Andrew has been covering 30 Lehmann vintages and 20 vintages of Stonewell, sourced from vines that were planted as far back as 1885, cuttings that came to the Barossa from the great Hermitage vineyards of Southern France. Of course there is real irony in the fact that whilst the original Shiraz vineyards of France were destroyed by Phylloxera in the late 19th century, vines up to 150 years old, still on those original pre-phylloxera rootstocks continue to bear fruit each vintage in the Barossa.

When Lehmann first started making Stonewell Shiraz in 1987, the aim was to showcase the best Barossa Shiraz from their legacy of 185 independent grape growers. This has no peer in the Barossa winemaking community. Although Andrew states that “nothing ever stays the same and Stonewell is no different” little has really changed.in their a approach since the first vintage. They began to use barrel fermentation in 1989 and that clearly propelled the wine to a new leverl (they won the Jimmy Watson trophy that year and put Peter Lehmann on the map) and in 1996 they started to experiment with French oak, which is obviously more subtle and allows the fruit to express its subtle differences. Today they use approx 90% French to 10% American. Also the grapes are picked a little riper now to increase colour and provide a richer mouthfeel and the time in oak has decreased. This goes some way to explaining why the recent vintages are so fresh and vibrant.

Production of the wine varies from around 1000 cases in the early days to a peak of 5000 cases in the very best years. The typical production is around half of this.

Peter Lehmann Stonewell Shiraz Tasting Notes

1987. Muted nose. Quite brown on rim, Showing age on taste but very well balanced. Lacks depth and complexity. Interesting and superb.

1988. More colour. Closed nose. Rather muted. Beautiful depth and breadth. Rich fruit and good acids. Has more left in the tank.

1989. Major “step-change”. Explosive nose. Still tremendous fruit and ripeness. This wine still seems very young. Great length and very delicious. This was served from magnum. Note that this is the first vintage where barrel fermentation took place – something they heard about from Penfolds and Wolf Blass who were winning all the trophies back then. Winner of Jimmy Watson Winemaking trophy for best 1yo Australian Red Wine.

1990. Claret-like colour. The palate is quite foursquare and angular. Lacks the roundness of great Barossa Shiraz.

1991. Another fruit-bomb. Even a wine-gum like intensity of sweet ripe fruit. Not all that complex but delicious. Note: 3 ½ years in oak!!!

1992. Muted nose. Lovely flavours of spice, cigar box and savoury leather. Some soft red fruits too. First wine with great balance anc complex lengths.

1993. Typical deep red Shiraz colour. Similar nose and flavour profile to the 91 with a strong blackcurrant and wine gum profile. Very generous sweet black fruits taste through to a long weighty finish . IWC Gold Medal Winner

1994. Very dark. Expressive and complex nose. A good battle between fruit and spice. Possibly the secondary aromas and flavours are now getting the upper hand suggesting the wine is coming of age. Very accomplished wine. Serious indeed.

1995. Black red in colour. Slightly figgy nose. Palate is grainy and spicy and leathery with hints of liquorice. Quite aged and even a touch earthy and vegetal. Biscuity mid palate.  This is a very different style. IWC Gold

1996. Totally different style. Ripe eucalyptus and mint aroma. Colour is big and dark and brooding. All round incredible ripeness, superb complexity and power. Still a touch of fig or prune on the finish. NB, this is vintage where French oak comes into the mix for the first time (10%).

1997. Dark colour, figgy nose. Simple aroma that is slightly over-ripe. Not as well balanced as the best.

1998. Seems like first of the modern era. Lively and young with a powerful nose and real depth. The palate explodes with fruit flavour. It’s complex and spicy with terrific depth. Big, bold and first class. 70% French oak.

1999. Lovely black fruit aromas. Vanilla and fig come through well. Palate is just a touch tight and angular. Nice pretty finish.

2000. Distinct mint and eucalyptus aromas. Very menthol. This rounded and fruity. Perhaps a little over jammy maybe? Finish is a little short. Good but and early drinker.

2001. Shows age on the colour. Bit pruney on the nose. Balanced, juicy and spicy but lacks real Stonewell quality.

2002. Very dark, medicinal style on the nose. Actually quite earthy. Moving into the realm of the closed younger style. All said and done the depth here is incredible. Andrew thinks this could be the greatest Stonewell ever made.Currently available in wooden cases of 6: http://www.harperwells.com/HWProduct391/PeterLehmannStonewellShiraz2002Barossa.aspx

2003. Oak seems prominent but as a young wine we’d expect this. The nose is very enticing. The palate is broad and delicious. Seems quite open and soft for such a young wine. A generous and approachable youngster.

2004 Stonewell Shiraz. Dark concentrated and closed - typical of many of the very greatest Barossa 04s. To me like a young 89 or 92 so lots to look forward to. Has the potential to be a great wine and Andrew Wigan is VERY excited by the potential. Initial critics scores seem to suggest that there will be quite a rush on this when it lands. http://www.harperwells.com/HWProduct1182/PeterLehmannSTONEWELLShiraz2004.aspx

2005. Broad and open on the nose. A great mix of spice and fruit. Balanced and complex this is a very sophisticated Stonewell and one to watch. Could be in the first tier of the great wines of Lehmann’s past.

2006. Closed. Very concentrated and full of depth. Likely to require decades of age. There is layer upon layer of fruit here. Lots to come. Similar to 05.

Conclusion. The great past vintages are clear; 1989, 1992, 1996 and 1998. Anyone with these wines in their collection should be delighted. Many other vintages came close, particularly the 2002 which the Lehmann team rate as their best ever. However this wine is currently in the no-man’s-land of 7 years old (neither young or mature) and, in my opinion at least, is quite closed at present. A special mention should be made of the young trio of 2004, 2005 and 2006 - quite literally they could be amongst the defining wines of this decade of the Barossa region. These excite us in a big way and we will look closely at the release dates.

Further notes http://www.peterlehmannwines.com.au/ProductDetail.aspx?p=27&id=7

Special thanks to Karen Sutton for organising the event.

EAW 22/5/2009