Sparkling Shiraz “Black Queen” Barossa Valley 2017 – Peter Lehmann Masters

The grapes to produce the Sparkling Shiraz “Black Queen” Barossa Valley Peter Lehmann Masters were fermented on skins for 7-10 days, before being pressed and clarified. The wine was then aged for 12 months in older French oak hogsheads. The base wine was then bottle-fermented and aged on its yeast lees for four years. After disgorgement, a small percentage of fortified Shiraz was added to build complexity and add natural sweetness before release.

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. The Black Queen is made from Shiraz grown on old, low-yielding vines in premium vineyards in the Light Pass and Stonewell districts of the Barossa Valley. These parcels were both chosen for their high fruit concentration and balanced tannin levels, typical characteristics of their districts.

Peter Lehmann 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 large swathe of its old vines. The crisis passed, in large part thanks to Peter’s energy and vision, and the Lehmann winery became one of the Barossa’s – and Australia’s – outstanding wineries.