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Bottle per case: 6
Ghiran Estate Cabernet Merlot
Mount Langi Ghiran is in the Grampians, and although one of a group of central Victorian regions which are quite close geographically, is climatically distinct. It is one of Australia’s leading cool-climate wineries, and was among the leaders in putting Victorian winemaking on the map through the ‘70s and ‘80s. It was established in 1969 and today Mount Langi Ghiran produces some of Australia’s benchmark cool-climate reds.
It's no mystery how such achievements are made. They rely on quality, the kind of quality that comes through in blind tastings where skilled assessors have nothing to go on but the wine in the glass. Time and time again, Mount Langi Ghiran wines have identified themselves as distinctive in defining the style of an emerging region.
You would not call Mount Langi Ghiran wines rich or voluptuous. They are vibrant and intense, quite taut when young, ageing with great elegance. Mount Langi Ghiran’s Langi Shiraz rates in the ‘Excellent’ category of Langton’s Classification of Australian Wines.James Halliday (Wine Atlas of Australia & New Zealand) on Mount Langi Ghiran:
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COLOUR:
Medium to full red-purple.
NOSE:
A solid, smooth bouquet with dark berry and chocolate supported by gently sweet oak.
PALATE:
The aromatic characters are repeated on the palate which has plenty of fruit weight and sweetness offset by fine tannins and subtle oak. Top vintage.
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Although the climate at Mount Langi Ghiran is marginal for grape growing, the spectacular setting creates a unique environment, ideal for producing cool climate wines of distinctive character. The vineyards are situated at the base of the 540 metre cliff face of Mount Langi Ghiran, at an elevation of 350 metres above sea level. Approximately 3km opposite is the equally majestic Mount Cole. The two mountains create a cooling effect as cold air tumbles down the montians and flows through the valley at night. During Autumn, the shadow thrown by the montain shortens and effective sunshine hours, creating perfect conditions for an extended ripening period.
As a consequence, the grapes retain excellent acid levels and slow berry delelopment produces the intense fruit flavours for which the Langi wines are known. In fact, due to the temperature, Mount Langi Ghiran is always among the last vineyards to be picked in Australia. With a Mean January Temperature (MJT) of 18.35 degrees C, Langi is colder than Launceston in Tasmania, which has MJT of 20.4 degrees C.
Langi has an unusual soil profile that is rarely found elsewhere in Victoria and indeed Australia. As Mount Langi Ghiran is an isolated geological feature, the rock has eroded over time providing a granite topsoil layer in the vineyard. This sits on top of red clay loams and provides further complexity in the fruit.
Although unusual in Australia, centuries of selection for Shiraz cuttings in the Rhone Valley have led to some condiderable synergies between granitic soils and this superb variety. Thus the soils at Mount Langi Ghiran create wines with character and distinction, which resonates with the wines grown on granite in the Old World.
