Bottle Of The Week

THE Barossa Valley, home to some of the oldest vines and wineries in the country, is crucial to the most cursory overview of Australian wine. And Peter Lehmann, who helped save the fine old tradition of Shiraz when fashion turned against it, is crucial to the Barossa. While there are now many magnificent, highly prized (and highly priced) examples, his own Peter Lehmann The Barossa Shiraz 1997 (outlets above, usually £8.99) remains a mid-price winner - big, warm and forthright like the man himself. Gather ye good Barossans while ye may: the 1999 vintage, it is now admitted, was a disaster.