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Dear //FirstName// What a difference a few weeks can make! Until the last week of May the Barossa experienced something of an Indian summer with clear blue skies and mild but worryingly dry days. A distinct change is now in the air. The temperature has dropped, much needed rain has been falling steadily throughout the valley and staff and visitors alike are gravitating to the open fire in cellar door. Many who so recently bemoaned the dry heat of summer are already lamenting its passing, but they need not for one of the great beauties of wine is its magical ability to capture a season in a bottle. It is for this reason wines are often referred to as ‘liquid sunshine’ and when it comes to restoring that cosy feeling of inner warmth there is no better tipple than a port. Due to issues of label integrity in Australia, we can’t put the name port on a bottle. Deriving its name from Oporto, the second largest city in Portugal, this fortified style of wine originated in the 17th century and along with its muscat and sherry variations was the foundation and mainstay of the Barossa’s early wine industry. In a nutshell, fortification is the practice of adding spirit (often brandy) to fermenting grapes to halt fermentation resulting in a wine that is both sweet and high in alcohol. When most of us think ‘port’ we are picturing a ‘tawny’ - those fortifieds left to age in wooden casks for many years until they take on that orange/brown tawny colour, soft, silky character and those toffee honey and nutty flavours. Our 20-year-old Liqueur Shiraz is the classic example of this style. The alternate and perhaps lesser known version is the vintage port. This style is bottle aged and tends to maintain more of the character of the grape variety it’s made from. Langmeil demonstrates this in our 2010 Vintage Port. A classically rich viscous jammy shiraz that will continue to mature in the bottle for 20+ years. For winter both versions are available for tasting in cellar door and are only enhanced by the warmth of the open fire on a rainy afternoon. Of course if you can’t get here we can always send them to you. For those already familiar with the 20-year-old liqueur, we are able to offer a brief winter bonus. Due to the gremlins of off-site bottling we have been left with a few dozen unlabeled/marked bottles. Usually priced at $35 per bottle (375ml) we are looking to clear these as 6 packs for $120 ($20 per bottle). Being a cellar door favourite we expect them to be gone quickly so if you’re interested get in early to avoid disappointment. To order use this secret link. Warmest regards from a cooling Barossa. Jonathan Bitter
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