Peter Lehmann Layers, Adelaide White 2019  £15.29

PETER LEHMANN LAYERS, ADELAIDE WHITE

Peter Lehmann, with 33 vintages already under his belt, started his own winery in 1979, partly as a means of helping with the glut of grapes then afflicting the Barossa. "I'll take your grapes and turn them into wine," he told the desperate growers, many of them conservative farmers of Silesian descent who regarded their old vines as part of their patrimony. "But I'll only be able to pay you when I sell the wine." They gratefully accepted. Without this deal, it is widely thought that the Barossa would have lost a huge chunk of its old vines. Since its first vintage, the Peter Lehmann winery has championed Shiraz and Semillon, the two great traditional varieties of the Barossa. The Layers blends use these two varieties as a base upon which to build a wine that expresses the new face of the Barossa, using varieties that are new or innovative. These smartly packaged wines show that while Peter Lehmann is a traditional winery, it continues to be as innovative today as it was 40 years ago.

Peter Lehmann Wines works with over 140 growers across the length and breadth of the Barossa Valley region, with access to over 750 individual vineyard sites. Grapes for this wine came from selected vineyards in the Barossa with the Pinot Gris sourced from the Adelaide Hills.

After reasonable levels of rainfall during winter and spring the groundwater reserves were adequate as the growing season approached. January and February were warm and dry, and despite the particularly warm temperatures in February, which speeded up ripening, there were no extended heatwave conditions. The grapes were harvested during the cool of the night, preserving freshness and quality.

Cold fermentation in stainless steel tanks prior to blending and early bottling has produced a lively, fresh yet complex white wine.

Pale yellow with a youthful green hue, on the nose there are aromas of citrus, peach and white flowers. The finely structured, lemon tinged Semillon provides a wonderful backbone to support the soft floral aromatics of Muscat, entwined with the delicate spice of Gewürztraminer. The Pinot Gris provides texture and mouthfeel to the mid-palate and the finish is crisp and fresh.