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Peter Lehman Masterclass
Bel & Brio, Barangaroo
Tasted August 7, 2018 by chatters with 194 views
Introduction
big tasting of the Peter Lehman premium wines with Malcolm Stropp, their brand ambassador.
Flight 1 - Bracket one - arrival (1 note)
not often that I like this kind of thing but this is rather splendid
Red - Sparkling
2012 Peter Lehmann Black Queen Sparkling Shiraz
Smells black…blackberry, plum, black pepper, spice, a little cream and vanilla. Juicy, the fruit lends a hint of sweetness to the palate, some tannin burr joins the gritty mousse across the front of the palate, liquorice joins the noses flavours and a fair alcohol heft on the finish. Typical for an Aussie sparkling Shiraz. Kind of fun in a dirty, guilty, way.
Flight 2 - Bracket two - Riesling (3 notes)
I thought the 13 was a bit forward, the 08 soft but good and the 03 very Australian
White
2013 Peter Lehmann Riesling Wigan
Kerosene, lime cordial and slightly crystallised lime on the nose, very acidic, lime juice with a smidge of kerosene and a little dusty note, some breadth and slight burr on the palate. Hmm
White
2008 Peter Lehmann Riesling Wigan
Lime cordial, less forward, oddly enough, than the 2013. Well, less kerosene on the nose, very slight honey. Softer and broader on the palate, thought still exceedingly juicy. Lime is joined by honey, very nice indeed some slightly drying burr on the gums.
White
2003 Peter Lehmann Riesling Wigan
Kerosene, honey, slight butter, toast, crystallised lime, and back to being exceedingly juicy and for me a little tart but the tertiary characteristics really helps the wine out and lends complexity and interest but this isn't for me.
Flight 3 - Bracket three - Semillon (3 notes)
Not that enamoured with the 13 but I'd like to try the 07 and 02 against Hunter equivalent…
White
2013 Peter Lehmann Sémillon Margaret
Green apple, a little wet hay, slight lemon and lemon zest. Juicy, zesty almost, green apple, tight burr on the mid palate. Simple and a little short for me.
White
2007 Peter Lehmann Sémillon Margaret
Green apple, a little honey, butter and sweet spice. Lemon and green apple, tangy, crunchy but with butter and honey pursuing this on the palate. Long, kind of nice. I'd be interested to try this against some Hunters of the same vintage.
White
2002 Peter Lehmann Sémillon Margaret
Green apple, slight butter, toast, honey, a little reductive as well though this blows off with time, bees wax. Juicy, apples, butter, toast, honey, slight burr on the front of the mouth. Yum.
Flight 4 - Bracket four - Cabernet and Cabernet blends (4 notes)
Yeah, nah…Just didn't think this wine was a winner for me regardless of the vintage…this bracket came matched to beef cheeks…
Red
1993 Peter Lehmann Mentor
Meaty, savoury, blackcurrant, leather, cedar and pyrazine, a little mint and pea. Slightly sour black fruits, a touch of VA, savoury spice, leather, pyrazine, near fully resolved chalky tannins. Actually this VA driven sourness works very well with beef cheeks...
Red
1999 Peter Lehmann Mentor
Lovely, vanilla oak, blackcurrant, sweet spice, a little coconut, polished, ripe, toast. Fruit forward with plenty of alcohol and oak. A little gentle tannic burr. Long broad and some leathery notes joining here. Quite old school Aussie Cab Sav.
Red
2004 Peter Lehmann Mentor Cabernet
Leather, blackcurrant, meaty, savoury, more savoury spice, ripe, slight caramel. Juicy, tightly tannic but silky textured, black fruit, a little jubey, a little sweet spice Leather. Hmm.
Red
2013 Peter Lehmann Mentor Cabernet
Confected blackcurrant, pyrazine, slight smoked bacon, a little muted, black tea. Again tightly tannic but now quite drying over cedar, cream, broad, black fruit, well made, balanced but not for me.
Flight 5 - Bracket five - Shiraz (4 notes)
Hmm, this bracket was more interesting. I thought the 93 was very much the wine of the bracket. The 98 and 04 were quite forward (arguably oxidised) and the 13 was just too young to make a call…
Red
1993 Peter Lehmann Shiraz Stonewell
leather, earth, black pepper, sweet spice, slight sour blackberry, a little bit farty. Blackberry, plenty of tannins, black pepper and a fair lick of alcohol heat on the finish, leather, touch of coffee, though this is quite balanced and pleasant.
Red
1998 Peter Lehmann Shiraz Stonewell
flawed
Oxidised, leather, blackberry and plentiful spice, liquorice, hmm, quite forward. Juicy, tightly tannic, a little coffee lozenge, fruit is quite muted. It's a bit flat. Hmm. I call FLAW
Red
2003 Peter Lehmann Shiraz Stonewell
Savoury, blackberry, liquorice, slightly confected and concentrated, peppery spice, a little leather and slightly oxidised. Juicy, tight, lots of tannins, blackberry fruit but that tannin close things down a bit. Still very primary in a very Australian way.
Red
2013 Peter Lehmann Shiraz Stonewell
A little reductive, earthy, with agitation blackberry and black pepper spice, a little saline. Juicy, tight tannins which dominates the black fruit which struggles to persist beneath this.
Flight 6 - Bracket six - Option & Port (2 notes)
got wiped on the options game very early (shame!) after I called Cabernet rather than Shiraz…tsk tsk. Port was better on the palate than the nose but, well, meh…
Red
2013 Brand's Laira Shiraz Stentiford's
Black fruit, biscuit, a little leather, mint, plum, sweet spice. Juicy with chalky tannins, quite tight, a little warm with muted black fruit.
Red - Fortified
2001 Peter Lehmann The King Vintage Port
Slightly oxidised alcohol heat, figs and walnuts, prune, cream, vanilla. Considerably softer on the palate. Gently tannic, black fruit, spiced with a little candied orange peel, chocolate. Approachable but, for me, a little more time to eke out some tertiary characteristics though that slight oxidative note is a concern.
Closing
Woof, a lovely opportunity to see back vintages of these wines going back a fair amount of time. My wine of the night was the stonewell 93 but, at $169 AUD, it's probably a little expensive for my desires…actually, that 08 riesling was pretty handy