Soft shiraz and cabernet: why James Halliday rates Lake Breeze from Langhorne Creek as Australia’s best value winery
James Halliday rates this Langhorne Creek winery as making the ‘best value wines’ in Australia. Those who enjoy soft cabernet and shiraz won’t be disappointed.
It’s time to find out why our club president, James Halliday, and his team believe Lake Breeze makes the best value wines in Australia.
“Line ’em up, wine for wine and dollar for dollar, and the value for money represented by Lake Breeze is nothing short of extraordinary,’’ the Halliday Wine Companion judges said, awarding the Langhorne Creek producer the Best Value Winery gong for 2022.
It’s hard not to be impressed when tasting Lake Breeze’s reds, which shimmer with a winning combination of fruit sweetness and soft tannins. So we’re delighted The Australian Wine Club can this week offer exceptional deals on three of its wines.
Behind Lake Breeze’s success stand three brothers: winemaker Greg Follett, vineyard manager Tim Follett and general manager Roger Follett.
As Greg points out, the Follett family have been working on the same patch of dirt since the 1850s, tending vines for over 130 years on the shores of the Bremer River, which feeds into South Australia’s colossal Lake Alexandrina.
The family’s 90-hectare vineyard, surrounded by majestic river red gums, produces and sells fruit from vines that go back to the early 1900s but it wasn’t until 1987 that the boys’ parents, Ken and Marlene, insisted they hold back some cabernet sauvignon grapes to distribute under their own label.
Nowadays Lake Breeze selects the best fruit from the older vines for its wines, while continuing to sell the rest to other wineries. While the oldest grenache vines date back to 1932, Ken planted sizeable tracts of cabernet and shiraz in the 1960s and ’70s, which provide a rich base of old vine material.
“We’re fortunate that we have owned our vineyards for a long time and we’re able to keep out cost base down a little,’’ says Greg, who has also just been short-listed for Winemaker of the Year 2023 by the Halliday Wine Companion.
“It’s a philosophy of ours to be able to offer wines at affordable prices – we’re not into price gouging.”
While the Halliday award brings national attention to Lake Breeze, its wines have been pleasing palates at major Australian wine shows for years, picking up 60 trophies and more than 180 gold medals.
Greg says Langhorne Creek’s maritime climate, soil and old vines also are a secret weapon when it comes to producing quality cabernet and shiraz.
One of the region’s great assets are the Southern Ocean breezes sweeping across Lake Alexandrina – about three times the size of Sydney Harbour – which help to create a surprisingly cool climate, allowing for a longer, more even ripening period.
This is coupled with deep, rich alluvial soil, which is deposited by the unique annual flooding of the Bremer River.
“When you look at the great cabernet wine regions of the world – places like Bordeaux, Margaret River and Coonawarra – they all have that maritime climate,’’ Greg says. “People forget that when it’s 35 degrees at 5 o’clock in the afternoon in places like the Barossa and McLaren Vale, it’s 23 degrees down here.”
Lake Breeze, situated an hour’s drive south of Adelaide, is also focused on ensuring its wines are all vegan-friendly, avoiding animal-based products if any fining is required.
So here’s your chance to find out what’s blowing in the breeze – without breaking the bank.
Lake Breeze Bernoota Langhorne Creek Shiraz Cabernet 2018
Bernoota was the original name given to the homestead on the Lake Breeze property – it’s an Aboriginal name for “camp among the gum trees”. The 2018 is a blend of 60% shiraz and 40% cabernet sauvignon, selected from vines with an average age of about 40 years. Generous blackberry and plum flavours coat the palate, with hints of choc-mint, vanilla and smoky cedar. The wine was matured for 20 months in American and French oak barriques and four years into its life is drinking beautifully. Gold at the Langhorne Creek Wine Show 2021. 14.5% alc; RRP $23 a bottle
SPECIALS $19.99 a btl in straight doz; $16.99 a btl in Lake Breeze mixed doz
Lake Breeze Chapel Road Langhorne Creek Cabernet Sauvignon 2019
From the old vines on the Chapel Road vineyard, Lake Breeze makes this wine exclusively for our wine club. Enticing aromas of black fruits and violets lead to a silky palate, where classic cabernet flavours reveal themselves. Blackcurrants, cassis and mocha chocolate are woven together with cedar in the background. A lovely long finish gives you time to wonder why this wine isn’t sold at a considerably higher price. The wine was matured in French oak barriques for 15 months prior to bottling. Gold at the China Wine & Spirits Awards in 2021. Exceptional value. 14% alc; RRP $22 a bottle
SPECIALS $15.99 a btl in straight doz; $16.99 a btl in Lake Breeze mixed doz
Lake Breeze Chapel Road Langhorne Creek Shiraz 2019
Classic rich and velvety South Australian shiraz. Plums and dark chocolate drive the profile of another Lake Breeze gold medal winner. Great depth of flavour, with soft tannins motoring to the finish. Also made exclusively for the wine club. 12 months in oak. 14.5% alc; RRP $22 a bottle. SPECIALS $15.99 a btl in straight doz; $16.99 a btl in Lake Breeze mixed doz
LAKE BREEZE DOZEN 4 bottles of each wine, $16.99 a bottle
ALTERNATIVE DEAL 6 bottles each of Lake Breeze Chapel Road Cabernet and Chapel Road Shiraz, $15.49 a bottle
Order online or telephone 1300 765 359 Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm AEST. Deals only available while stocks last. The Australian Wine Club is a commercial partnership with Laithwaites Wine.
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