$17.99 at Crush Wine & Spirits in Bryant, Arkansas (AR)
92 points – Tasting Panel
100% Shiraz from Barossa
Matured in French and American oak for 12 months.
Aromas of dark forest berries with a hint of chocolate, coffee, and vanilla. Same flavors on the palate with noticeable acidity. This is a full-bodied, fruit forward wine with soft tannins.
Sourced from 80 growers in the wine region, it is meant to present a “portrait” of the Barossa region. This wine is named after the legendary character Clancy of the Overflow immortalized by Australian poet Banjo Patterson in his ode to all that is good and true living on the land. Its first vintage was in 1988 and since then has made the top 100 list of Wine Spectator six times.
Peter Lehmann Wines was officially formed in 1979, however, Peter Lehmann is part of the history of the development of Barossa wine country. He started in the wine business in 1947 as apprentice winemaker at Yalumba winery where he began to build his reputation as one of Australia’s most skillful red winemakers.
In 1959 he took the position as winemaker/manager of the Saltram winery in Barossa where he worked for 20 years. From the harvests of 1977 and 1978 there was a serious grape surplus with many grape growers unable to sell their grapes to the wineries including Saltram. Although it was considered a risky gamble, Peter saw an opportunity to help these farmers by making a wine on the side called Masterson Barossa Vignerons, named after the Guys and Dolls character Sky Masterson. In 1979, Saltram was sold and the new owners shut down the operation. Peter parted ways to give his full attention to Masterson which evolved into Peter Lehmann Wines in 1982. PLW’s first vintage under this new label was the 1980 vintage. Peter retired in 2002 and passed away in 2013.
Nigel Westblade has been chief winemaker of PLW since 2017. Prior to that, he has over 20 years of experience in the wine industry with previous positions in Australia, the U.S., and China.
