Licking up the Lehmann wine

Bangkok newspaper reporters, as is their wont, elbowed into a crowd of wine lovers at the Sheraton Pattaya Resort last weekend to get their share of a six-course feast that included Peter Lehmann from Australia. 

Lehmann’s export manager, Howard Duncan, welcomed the mob with a little history. Experienced winemaker Peter Lehmann and his investment partners founded the firm in 1979 in the Barossa Valley, an hour’s drive from Adelaide, he said. 

A year later they had their first batch, but Lehmann knew much had still to be done in a competitive market. Growth was deliberately slow and steady, from bulk to premium, and international renown was gained. 

Today Lehmann adds grapes from its own vineyards to those supplied by 185 neighbouring growers, though it can fill only about 2 percent of its needs.

Enough history, let’s eat! 

The picturesque resort’s executive chef, Spencer Kells, didn’t need to be told twice, trotting out a terrific scallop tatare with white-chocolate foam and crustacean oil. The clean and dry finish of Peter Lehmann Weighbridge Unoaked Chardonnay 2009 and the soft depth of the fruit made a fine match, while offering a perfect example of the youthful, fruit-driven style of Chardonnay.

Tasmanian salmon confit with a orange, fennel and coriander salad was served with Clancy’s Semillion-Sauvignon Blanc 2009. Lively, luscious and well structured, the wine was fresh and zesty, a delight in enhancing the crisp, tangy salad and slightly creamy fish.

Crispy quail stuffed with foie gras was served on a bed of citrus-caramelised Belgian endive with a glass of dark cherry red Weighbridge Cabernet-Merlot 2009. The firm finish with gentle tanins brought out the flavours of the food, making it an even more well-balanced dish.

Australian beef Bourguignon was accompanied with Clancy’s Cabernet-Shiraz-Merlot 2008. It’s a wine with good fruit complexity that draws on the attributes of each variety in the blend: Shiraz gives richness and fruit, Merlot adds a textural softness and the Cabernet Sauvignon with its firm tannins reins in the fruit to provide balance.

Deep-red Stonewell Shiraz 2006 was served alongside a cheese platter of Gorgonzola, Parmigiano-Reggiano with aged balsamic and Camembert with honey. Rich, with a hint of chocolate and dark plum, the wine subtly heightened the racy and robust flavours of the cheeses.

The last course was a creative lemon and basil parfait with strawberry sorbet, strawberry jelly and meringue tears. The tangy platter came with Botrytis Semillon 2009, a sweet and dry vintage with a tropical-fruit aroma and a hint of citrus. The grapes for this wine came from Lehmann’s Semillon vineyard on the banks of the River Para.