Chris Shanahan: Wine review — Peter Lehmann, Curly Flat and Longview

Peter Lehmann H and V Eden Valley Riesling 2013 $19–$22
In 2003, Swiss-based Hess Group, purchased a majority interest in Peter Lehmann Wines, giving the international winemaker a Barossa presence, alongside it interests in the USA, Argentina and South Africa. The purchase gave the Australian business the stability it needed to get on with making good Barossa wines, like this lovely riesling from the adjoining Eden Valley. From the elevated, cooler eastern slopes of Eden, H and V offers pure, lime-like varietal flavour, vibrant acidity and zingy, dry finish. The wine won a gold medal in last year’s Melbourne wine show, silver in London and bronze in Canberra’s National Wine Show 2013.

Curly Flat Macedon Ranges White Pinot 2013 $24
Curly Flat gives us a new take on the old technique of making white(ish) wine from red grapes. The Champagne region succeeded with it centuries ago, making white sparkling wine from the red varieties, pinot noir and pinot meunier. Americans drink gallons of white zin – a pinkish, often sweet wine made from the otherwise dense purple zinfandel grape. With just a blush of colour from three hours’ skin contact, Curly Flat white pinot noir offers a quite full mouth feel, though the flavour and texture are delicate and the finish is dry – fascinating company for our smoked, barbecued salmon.

Longview Adelaide Hills Shiraz Cabernet 2012 $14.25–$17
The Saturno family turns out a range of Adelaide Hills wines, starting with the well-priced Red Bucket blends. In 2012 they sourced shiraz (65 per cent) from their own Longview Estate vineyard, at Macclesfield, and cabernet sauvignon (35 per cent) from Kuitpo. The wine combines the highly aromatic, sweet-berry character of ripe, cool-grown shiraz with cassis-and-leaf cabernet varietal character. The wine’s generously flavoured, but medium bodied, with the mid-palate sweetness of shiraz and fine, firm tannins of cabernet. It offers delicious current drinking, evidenced by its three gold, two silver and seven bronze medals.