‘A beautiful and enthusiastically expressive wine with real energy and lift’
These wines mark a moment in time and in unison telling a story woven from threads of ambition, celebration, devastation and renewal.
One of the gifts wine gives us is the opportunity to ramble through decades in a matter of hours. At a tasting in Melbourne last week, bottles of the legendary Mt Langi Ghiran shiraz going back to 1981 did just that; 28 wines from across five decades, each marking a moment in time and in unison telling a story woven from threads of ambition, celebration, devastation and renewal.
There had been vines at Mt Langi Ghiran in the late 19th century, but the story really begins in 1969 when the Fratin family planted a vineyard in a cool valley between Grampian peaks Mount Langi Ghiran and Mount Cole. The location was one thing in their favour, the other was the old vine material they sourced from the 140-year-old Nursery Vineyard at nearby Great Western. The third trump card came in 1981, in the form of winemaker Trevor Mast. Mast had a vision for a cooler, finer, distinctively Grampians style of shiraz.
Beginning the tasting was Mast’s first Langi; the 1981 holding up surprisingly well, still showing blackberries and redcurrants, earthiness over spiciness, and signature white pepper running through in fine seams. It was the start of something special. Mast bought the property in 1987 and built its reputation as the apogee of cool-climate shiraz in Australia. The 1999, the year local lad Adam Louder came on board as a cellar hand, was spectacular and significant. Louder would become the custodian of the Mast legacy left when Mast was cruelly taken by Alzheimer’s in 2012. Langi was sold to the Rathbone family in 2002, who worked with Mast until he stepped back in 2005, supported by Dan Buckle, Kate Petering and Ben Haines. Sensibly, that local cellar hand was appointed winemaker in 2018. The fact that the 2021 Langi which closed out the tasting may be one of the very best yet shows the wisdom in that.
2021 Mt Langi Ghiran ‘Langi’ Shiraz
$210
From the old vines on the original block. A beautiful and enthusiastically expressive wine. Real energy and lift. Dry flowers and juicy dark cherries, ripe red berries, a bustling souk full of spices. Lashings of white pepper, some star anise, cardamom, mace. A seductive plushness to the palate, a gorgeous satiny sheen. Super fine tannin sheath. 14.8% abv, 97 points
2021 Mt Langi Ghiran ‘Mast’ Shiraz
$100
This comes from a block planted by Trevor Mast in the late 1990s, a consistently cooler site. It’s finely detailed, intricately etched, rippling with blue berries and black cherries. A fine seam of pepper is woven through the satin-sheened palate, a closing chapter of fine, gravelly tannin. 14.5% abv, 95 points
2022 Mt Langi Ghiran Cliff Edge Shiraz
$35
A summary of the Langi style in an accessible form. Loaded with typical dark berry characters, a generous sprinkling of spice and built on the beautifully sleek frame that signifies all the shiraz wines that come from this special place. The wine to drink now while the other two rest in the cellar. 14.5%, 93 points