Peter Lehmann, Kilikanoon, Allegiance Wines and Dandelion offer rich reds for summer

You’ll find well-cellared, gold-medal winners, including a 2014 Coonawarra cracker, in our final wine club column of the year.

Reds at the ready: take one of these to your next summer BBQ.

What a way to head into Christmas: we’re talking big, bold reds, fit to impress at any barbecue, for half the price.

And these aren’t just any reds: you’ll find well-cellared, gold-medal winners, including a 2014 Coonawarra cracker, in this final wine club column of the year.

It has been my pleasure this year to introduce you to the people behind some of the wines we’ve featured and to tell their stories.

You’ll see Peter Lehmann’s name in our wine selection this week – the great man has left us but his legacy lives on in superb Barossa wines. And you know from previous columns the story of Kevin Mitchell, son of a Clare Valley grape grower who founded Kilikanoon and turned it into an internationally acclaimed brand.

Here are the stories of two other dreamers who travelled vastly different paths to fulfil their wine destiny.

Elena Brooks, the creative force behind Dandelion Vineyards, fell under wine’s spell as a school student half a world away from her home in McLaren Vale today. Elena grew up in Bulgaria, behind the Soviet Union’s iron curtain, where her mother worked in a winery.

With the demise of the Soviet Union and the arrival of Western visitors, Elena was cast into the role of interpreter for the winery, being one of the few English speakers around. By the age of 12 she was interpreting barrel tastings with the winemakers. By 16, she was making her first batches of chardonnay.

After finishing her study, Elena found work in other wine regions before settling in the Vale and establishing Dandelion in 2007.

The mother of two is now regarded as one of Australia’s brightest wine talents and has garnered awards across the globe.

The inspiration for Allegiance Wines came in the passenger seat of a wine salesperson’s car. The driver was Tim Cox, then an eager sales agent for Southcorp, whose job for the day was ferrying around one of the biggest names in Australian wine: Penfolds chief winemaker Peter Gago.

“It was the day that changed my wine life,” Tim tells me. “Just seeing how much he knew; how much passion he had. I realised how much there was to learn.”

Tim is now the proud owner of an 8ha vineyard in Tumbarumba and boasts a network of grape growers from Coonawarra and the Barossa to Margaret River.

“I just love the creativity of wine – bottling your own wine is pretty special,” he says.

From everyone at The Australian Wine Club, we thank you for your support this year and wish you a happy and safe festive season. Merry Christmas.

Allegiance Wines The Artisan Reserve Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2014

The aromas lifting from the glass are seductive with a capital S. Classic Coonawarra cabernet flavours writ large: dark berries, choc-mint and cedar and spice, with soft succulent tannins supporting this intense treat. It’s spent seven years in cellar, and you can jump right in. 95 points from Wine Orbit; gold medals at wine shows in London, Spain and China. 14 per cent alc. RRP $60 a bottle.SPECIALS $49.99 a bottle in any mixed dozen; $22.38 a bottle in BBQ reds dozen.

Dandelion Pride of the Fleurieu Cabernet Sauvignon 2017

Give this Brooks creation just a little time to breathe on opening. Hand-picked, crushed, open-fermented, 14 days on skins, 18 months in mainly French oak. Blackcurrant, mint, licorice and dried bay leaf flavours mingle together on a bed of firm tannins. James Halliday awarded 95 points to this double gold medal-winning 2017 Pride of the Fleurieu, saying, “This is a deadly serious cabernet.” 14.5 per cent alc. RRP $30 a bottle. SPECIALS $22.99 a bottle in any mixed dozen; $22.38 a bottle in BBQ reds dozen.

Peter Lehmann The Antiquus Barossa Shiraz 2017

This is lavish and complex; you’ll find flavours of dark plums and bramble fruits and hints of coffee, tobacco leaf and game. Fine, structured tannins and great length. Another reason it’s worth waiting a few years before drinking many big Aussie reds.

14.5 per cent alc. RRP $44 a bottle. Gold at Germany’s Mundus Vini Wine Competition 2021. SPECIALS $24.99 a bottle in any mixed dozen; $22.38 a bottle in BBQ reds dozen.

Kilikanoon Testament Barossa Valley Shiraz 2019

 

Opulent fruit drives this sleek Barossa shiraz, bursting with blackberry, cherry and vanilla flavours and spicy notes. Framed by well-integrated oak. A gold medal-winning crowd pleaser at any barbecue. 14.5 per cent alc. RRP $45 a bottle. SPECIALS $24.99 a bottle in any mixed dozen; $22.38 a bottle in BBQ reds dozen.

BBQ REDS DEAL Three bottles of each wine at $22.38 a bottle.

Order online or telephone [phone] Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm AEST. Deals available only while stocks last. The Australian Wine Club is a commercial partnership with Laithwaites Wine People.