Impressive Shiraz … and the reason why we return time and again to Langhorne Creek for wines that provide high quality combined with customer value.
For some districts it takes a long time to gain customer support and Langhorne Creek has waited in the wings the longest of all. The first vineyard dates to 1860 then not a lot happened. The location and the climate are ideal though I think the reason was that Adelaide had ample supplies from McLaren Vale and the Barossa Valley. A Langhorne Creek wine was awarded the first Jimmy Watson Trophy in 1961 and Wolf Blass put himself on the map with three Jimmy Watson Trophies in the 1970s. Even this magnificent achievement did little to lift the districts image. I recall that even in the mid-1990s Langhorne Creek wines were hard to sell.
Times have changed but even now the best grapes sell for a lot less than those from the Barossa Valley, and with the resulting wines being almost as good – it makes them great bargains.
P.S. I revived the historic Oakley Adams brand (Melbourne 1871) for the Sydney retailer Theos in the late 1990s.
