Gotham Langhorne creek Shiraz 2008

“Holy cow Batman, what a bargain!”

We’re back at Langhorne Creek again, which goes to show how popular wines from this region are starting to become. Not that it was every any secret, Otto Wolfgang Blass (Wolf Blass to his mates), used fruit from this region for years to give depth to his wines, especially in his super premium wine the Black label.

We stumbled across this wine by chance, and I was sorely tempted to hire a Batman or Joker costume for the tasting. There was one problem with that, (apart from the fact that I might be labelled Fatman by the guy in the costume shop), and that was the Lady of the house wouldn’t agree to dress up as Batgirl, Catwoman, or even Robin. By the end of the discussion I would have settled for her dressing up as Arthur the butler, but by then it was a moot point.

So one evening we opened the wine at stately Wayne Manor, with the Batphone nearby in case of emergency, and the curtains drawn so that a shiny bat signal could be spotted from the corner of my eye.

With a familiar tune going through my head and images of omnamatapoeia swimming through my mind such as Kapow and Blam, there wafted an aroma of cracked pepper, chocolate and prunes. Holy Cow Batgirl, it’s coming from my glass! Da na na nana na na nahhhh…

The palate was very generous in weight and offered sweet plums, cloves, menthol, redcurrants, and aniseed. There was a nice layer of oak, both American and French, which added some coconut and sawdust flavours to the wine. The tannins were soft and balanced nicely with the sweet flavours. I looked at the batphone – still silent. The wine was opening up nicely in the glass and went down beautifully with a bird in red wine sauce – I think it was penguin.

I looked at Batgirl, she liked it too, and I asked if she was reconsidering the costume bit, she wasn’t. Nevertheless, Stately Wayne manor was full of lip smacking enjoyment and that ever present need to listen for the phone or look to the skies. In the end, there was no need to fire up the BatMazda so we settled in and noticed that we had also acquired a Cabernet from the same producer. To be continued next time, same Bat time, same Bat Channel. Da na na nana na na nahhhh…

Price normally $17.99, but my friend the Riddler picked it up for a steal at $13.99. This is the current vintage, and it will drink well over the next 3 years. It isn’t a long term keeper as its real beauty is in its honest and unmistakeable primary flavours that abound in its youth.

Peter Lehmann Barossa Valley “Seven Surveys” Shiraz Mourvedre Grenache 2007

“Its winter - time for a Barossa Cote”


Seven surveys is a tribute to the early settlers of the Barossa who brought vine cuttings from Europe in the 1870’s.

Peter Lehmann recently stepped down as chief of Peter Lehmann wines and these days is owned by the multinational Hess group (85%), as well as The Lehmann family (10%) and the rest is distributed amongst other shareholders.

This wine has been made in the style of the Cotes du Rhone wines of Southern France. The three grapes are traditionally used in the Rhone valley and coincidentally are the oldest and most established varieties planted in the Barossa valley.

These three grapes marry in nicely giving a warming wine that has some funky barnyard flavours, spice and some sweetness from the Shiraz, gamey and leaf characters from the Mourvedre, cherries from the Grenache. Just ignore the upfront sweaty socks aroma as this will only put you off. This is a hallmark of the style and nothing to do with stinky feet crushing the grapes, especially as that task was done mechanically.

It is soft on the palate, medium bodied but with good length. The wine is a good winter dish, goes fairly smartly with a beef casserole. Drink over the next 2 years – not one for long term cellaring.

Paid $16.00 but shop around as its often on special.