Producer Article

Peter Lehmann

Last edited on 3/25/2022 by LindsayM
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Who is Peter Lehmann?

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. The 'Masters' wines are made from the parcels regarded by the winemakers as the best Semillon, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz of the vintage.

Peter Lehmann Wines
In 1979 Peter Lehmann parted ways with Saltram to start Masterson Wines, the company which has since evolved into Peter Lehmann Wines, in a move solely designed to help the growers he had built relationships with over the years. Peter took the surplus grapes and doing business on a handshake sold wine on a “pay now and we’ll deliver in two years” arrangement called ‘The Futures’. This raised enough money to buy the growers’ fruit and process it into what became the first ever vintage of Peter Lehmann wine in 1980. Today the winemaking team at Peter Lehmann have a collective winemaking mentality defined by former chief winemaker and mentor, Andrew Wigan. Over the years there has been a natural evolution within the team but the approach has remained the same; consistency and a continuous strive for perfection. "We are always looking for ways to make better wine. To never rest on our laurels. There is a strong sense of pride and tradition that surround our wines.” Tim Dolan, Senior Winemaker
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