Langmeil is owned by the Lindner family, who have left their mark on the Barossa for six generations. Langmeil is known for preserving old vines and producing excellent wines from these prized sites. The pinnacle of winemaking is the Freedom 1843 Shiraz, which comes from what is believed to be the oldest surviving Shiraz vineyard in the world, planted in 1843 in the heart of this historic patch of Barossa soil.
We maintain a close relationship with our winemakers from Australia. We spontaneously conducted a detailed interview with James Lindner, the Managing Director of Langmeil, during our last exchange. Part one can be read here. Now follows the second and final part – Happy reading!
The entire Lindner family of Langmeil at a glance. James is somewhat hidden in the background.
Beat Eichmann, Managing Director Wyhus Ryf: Another fan of Langmeil, Kurt Ziegler from Thalwil, asks why the Valley Floor Shiraz bears this name (translated as valley floor)?
James Lindner, Managing Director Langmeil: The Valley Floor Shiraz is a wine that, in my opinion, truly reflects the foundation of Langmeil and aligns with our family's philosophy regarding wine, business, and community. This wine is created through collaboration with many local farmers, some of whom have been farming their land for six generations. As a family winery, we love the idea of sourcing fruit from other families who grow grapes across the breadth and depth of the Barossa Valley. It allows us an amazing diversity of fruit grown on the many different valley floors and geological substrates. These parcels are then individually destemmed and fermented in open fermenters. We then use basket presses to ensure we get beautiful, fine-grained tannins. These parcels then age separately in American oak for 24 months.
James Lindner on the Valley Floor Shiraz
We ensure that we pay our winegrowing families well. This helps secure their future and that of the next generation. So when people buy this wine, it's not just our family's success, but also the success of many other families in the Barossa Valley. This way, the financial reward is shared with the entire community, strengthening our region, our community, and our shared future.
The name "Valley Floor" reflects this strong foundation and the original vineyards that were located on the valley floor. In the meantime, however, we are already sourcing fruit from 20 of the originally 30 villages that were or still are settled throughout the Barossa Valley.
Sandra Eichmann on Langmeil's Freedom Vineyard next to a vine from 1843.
Beat: James, if you look at wyhus.ch at Langmeil's range, which wine is your favourite and why?
James: It's very hard to choose a favourite child, but currently I love the Langmeil Orphan Bank Shiraz. It might be because it was my father's favourite wine. But it could also be because this is a special wine with a special story. The "Foundation Vineyard" was originally planted in the 1860s and was the last remaining old vineyard that was part of the original Langmeil village. This vineyard was and continues to be affected by residential development. Eventually, the grower decided to sell the land. This last remaining vineyard in the area was to be ripped out and burned. For us, this vineyard was living history, planted by some of the earliest European settlers in the Barossa. We were devastated when we heard this was going to happen. So we decided to do something no one had ever done in the Barossa before, which was to dig up every single vine. When digging them up, we had to make sure that each vine had a large root ball. We then replanted these vines one kilometer away on our property. There were 320 Shiraz vines, over 140 years old. We did this in 2006 and were able to save over 90% of the vines.
Langmeil Orphan Bank - Buy now for CHF 58.00 at Wyhus Ryf
For us, these vines were orphaned. We rescued them and planted them on the banks of the local river. Hence the name Orphan Bank. Since then, we have decided to dedicate this wine to the brilliant old Shiraz vines from around the Barossa and to blend a wine from vines that have stood the test of time and continue to do so.
Beat: Langmeil Della Mina is a typical Italian blend. What is this wine about? What is the story behind it?
James: While the Barossa is known for its German heritage, there is also a significant Italian influence. When the Della Mina family emigrated from Northern Italy - Chiavenna (just 30 minutes from St. Moritz) - to South Australia in the 1930s, they married into the Lindner family, creating a lasting connection. This connection is based on a mutual love for family, agriculture, food, and wine. In homage to our Italian heritage, we have crafted two wines with a focus on newly introduced Italian grape varieties in the Barossa. These have proven to be very promising and of excellent quality.
That's the advantage we have in the Barossa. We are only minimally restricted by rules regarding what we can and cannot cultivate. But of course, our goal, as always, is to make the best wines we can, with the varieties that work exceptionally well in our soils and climates. We cherish our Italian connection with our family members and therefore often visit our family in Italy. It's interesting because when we are there, we feel a real connection with the landscape and the family. It's a wonderful feeling and we hope to visit the family again very soon.
Beat: We certainly hope so too. Thank you very much, James, for taking the time for us and our customers.
James: No worries mate! It was my pleasure.
 |
 |
 |
If you haven't read the first part of the interview yet, you should definitely do so. You can access the interview via this link. We also recommend that you check out Langmeil's range here. Order wine today and see the high quality of Langmeil for yourself.
