Dandelion Vineyards Lionheart of Barossa Shiraz

About Dandelion Vineyards Lionheart of Barossa Shiraz

Dandelion Vineyards Lionheart of Barossa Shiraz is aptly named after Barossa‘s lifelong champion of old vines and Dandelion co-founder, Carl Lindner. These ancient, gnarled vines, many over a hundred years of age, are not only surviving but thriving on their own roots in some of the oldest soils on the planet. The ‘God’s Hill Vineyard’ is aptly named as it sits at 1,400 feet in elevation overlooking the Barossa Valley to the west. 2018 was a very welcome sight after the challenging 2017 harvest. Temperatures were warm and dry, a touch drier than the norm but a lovely fall set it with lower-than-average temperatures and even a touch of early fall rain. Natural acidity was high and ripeness was perfectly in check.

In the first week of April whole bunches of Shiraz were hand-harvested, then gently crushed and naturally fermented in open fermenters for eight days, hand plunged twice a day, before careful basket pressing into new (25%) and older French Oak Barriques to finish fermentation. After 18 months of maturation and a racking in the same oak, we bottled our Lionheart vineyard without filtration or fining, to capture the essence of Carl’s vines.

About Dandelion Vineyards

At Dandelion Vineyards, it really starts and ends in the vineyard. Why the lonely dandelion as the mascot of the winery? The belief is that this pesky little weed is the heart and soul of the vineyard. It sprouts with the first sight of life in the soil and air and it eventually refolds back into the earth to become food for the vines. The brand was started by Bulgarian-born winemaker Elena Brooks and her husband Zar. They grow their own grapes as well as source fabulous old vine fruit from some of the finest family vineyards in Barossa, McLaren Vale, and Eden Valley.

Serious stuff, certainly. Proper fun, absolutely. The lifelong search to appreciate and understand the essence of wine, its terroir, leads Zar and Elena on a vinous treasure hunt, following the Dandelion’s Wishing Clock if you will, that always inspires. The belief is that in order to maximize variety, vintage and vineyard highlights require an enlightened approach by separating single sites, and even single soil types, vine by vine if need be. Dandelion Vineyards is a unique fusion of vineyards and vignerons. Their wines represent decades of experience, blending the fruit of heirloom vineyards with the finest traditions of artisan winemaking. It is the combination of old vineyards and a young winemaker and a couple of her mates to help out in between that makes for the ideal winery.