Langmeil The Freedom 1843 Shiraz 2017
-
Robert
Parker -
Australian Wine
Companion -
James
Suckling
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Blend: 100% Shiraz
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Langmeil's 2017 The Freedom 1843 Shiraz is a more savory vintage than many others, boasting scents of black olives, licorice and espresso against a backdrop of dark fruit. Yet it's full-bodied, concentrated and generous on the palate, avoiding any sense of austerity and finishing long and plush. It should drink well for 15 years or more.
-
Australian Wine Companion
Langmeil has always believed the vines were planted in 1843, the first in the Barossa Valley, but there is some dispute about this. The wine was matured in French hogsheads and barriques (44% new) for 24 months. It's an important wine, and a good one, but I wish the alcohol and oak had been lower.
-
James Suckling
From vines planted in 1843, this is a rarity. The aromas of ripe black and red fruit, as well as red plums and orange peel, are framed in subtly spicy notes of earth and chocolate. The palate is so melded and smooth with a very long delivery of rich blackberry flavors. Noble, long tannins here. Drink or hold.
Other Vintages
2016-
Robert
Parker -
James
Suckling
-
Wilfred
Wong -
Wine
Enthusiast -
James
Suckling -
Wine
Spectator
-
Wilfred
Wong -
Wine
Enthusiast
-
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
Langmeil is a blend of Barossa’s cultural beginnings and a family’s modern commitment to world-class, old vine winemaking. Once a trading village established in 1842, this remarkable place is a captivating pocket of Australia’s wine and vine history that is a must when visiting the Barossa.
Owned by the Lindner family, whose own mark on the Barossa spans six-generations of farming, food, community, and wine, Langmeil is renowned for its preservation of old vines and the making of distinguished wines from these cherished sites.
At the pinnacle of its winemaking is The Freedom 1843 Shiraz, made from what is understood to be the world’s oldest surviving shiraz vineyard believed planted in 1843 at the heart of this historical patch of Barossa earth.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
Historically and presently the most important wine-producing region of Australia, the Barossa Valley is set in the Barossa zone of South Australia, where more than half of the country’s wine is made. Because the climate is very hot and dry, vineyard managers work diligently to ensure grapes reach the perfect levels of phenolic ripeness.
The intense heat is ideal for plush, bold reds, particularly Shiraz on its own or Rhône Blends. Often Shiraz and Cabernet partner up for plump and powerful reds.
While much less prevalent, light-skinned varieties such as Riesling, Viognier or Semillon produce vibrant Barossa Valley whites.
Most of Australia’s largest wine producers are based here and Shiraz plantings date back as far as the 1850s or before. Many of them are dry farmed and bush trained, still offering less than one ton per acre of inky, intense, purple juice.