Langton’s Selections Oscar Semmler Shiraz, St Jakobi Shiraz, Willow Bend Merlot-Shiraz-Cabernet Sauvignon, Single Barrel Shiraz Dutschke Wines, located at the southern end of the Barossa, is a relatively new entrant onto the Barossa scene. Dutschke Wines illustrates how vineyard provenance, high-quality winemaking and immediate recognition from Robert Parker Jr. can thrust a relatively obscure name into the marketplace in such a convincing way. Wayne Dutschke’s family established a vineyard on their dairy-farming land in the 1930s supplying fruit to local co-operatives. By 1975 the vineyard had been re-established with Shiraz and Cabernet varieties, with most of the fruit going to Krondorf and Mildara Blass. Oscar Semmler (Wayne’s grandfather) often talked about his “dirt’ as being a “wonder of creation”. The vineyard on darker loams over clay is approximately 43 acres, mostly trellised on a single wire and open canopy system. The fruit is usually picked at 14 degrees Baume on flavour development. The wines are vinified in static fermenters with regular pumping over. At dryness the Oscar Semmler is drained and pressed off into between 80% and 100% new French oak. The St Jakobi sees 20% new, predominantly French and some American oak. The Willow Bend Merlot-Shiraz-Cabernet Sauvignon is matured in 20% new, predominantly American and some French oak. The Oscar Semmler is a ripe blackberry fruit spangled wine with plenty of liquorice and cedary/smoky oak, a richly flavoured palate with high-pitched fruit and refined French oak characters. It has plenty of opulence but also a naturally textured palate. It is easy to see why this wine has attracted so much enthusiasm. The wine is classically proportioned and reeks of regional definition. The St Jakobi Shiraz is also an incredibly well-made wine, with intense ground coffee/liquorice aromas and flavours with underlying oak and sinewy tannin structure. Dutschke is making some really interesting and approachable wines which have become highly prized on the secondary wine market. It’s Single Barrel Shiraz has also achieved something of cult status with bottles achieving around $100 a bottle. Andrew Caillard MW, Langton's