Langton’s Selections Langmeil The Freedom Shiraz, Langmeil Orphan Bank Shiraz, Langmeil The Fifth Wave Grenache In the early 1840s Christian Auricht, a blacksmith and newly arrived from Prussia, acquired some land at the new village of Langmeil in the Barossa. He planted a mixed orchard and Shiraz vineyard. He built a butcher’s shop, a bakery, a blacksmithy and the first village well. During the early days it was a coaching point where travellers stopped on their way to Kapunda and Burra. The Auricht family sold the buildings and land in the 1930s. A winery called Paradale was established on the site, but was again sold in the 1970s and renamed Bernkastel wines. In 1988 Langmeil was established by Richard Lindner, Chris Bitter and Carl Lindner – all Barossa-born and bred. A small patch, roughly 3½ acres of original Shiraz vines planted in the early 1840s remained intact. These vines are the source for Langmeil’s flagship wine The Freedom Shiraz, so named to recollect the early Lutheran pioneers of Langmeil who escaped religious persecution and political turmoil in Prussia. It is a traditional but concentrated Barossa style with lashings of sweet fruit, ripe tannins and oak. The wine is open fermented and then matured for up to 24 months in a combination of new and old French oak. The Orphan Bank Shiraz which sees a combination of new and used/seasoned American and French oak (proportions vary according to vintage) is a bloody good stock-in-trade style with plenty of fruit generosity and flavour length. The Fifth Wave Grenache, based on dry grown 60 year old vines is a powerful maturation style. The Three Gardens Shiraz Grenache Mourvedre is a classic juicy wine. Langmeil produces a number of other wines including a limited release Jackaman’s Cabernet Sauvignon based on southern Barossa fruit. Winemaker Paul Lindner belongs to a new generation of winemakers who believe that the fruit should be allowed to resonate with its origins. Oak is therefore always matched according to the overall volume and character of fruit. Langmeil has a moderate presence on the secondary wine market. The wines, however, are really good. Andrew Caillard MW, Langton's