Langton’s Selections Mitchelton Print Shiraz Located near Tahbilk, Mitchelton was established by Ross Shelmerdine a Melbourne entrepreneur in 1969 at Blackwood Park, an old grazing station on the edge of Nagambie Lakes. The vineyard site is adjacent to an important early river crossing, discovered in 1836 by Major Mitchell who opened up the route between Sydney and Melbourne. Plans for a riverside town called Mitchellstown were scrapped in favour of Seymour, located at a better crossing. Colin Preece (of Seppelt Great Western fame) steered this venture through the early years. From 1974 Don Lewis, the retired but long standing and long suffering winemaker, built up a strong and loyal following. Mitchelton is now a member of the large Lion Nathan group, the owners of Stoniers, Petaluma and St Hallett. The building is reminiscent of Dulles International Airport in Washington DC with its almost bizarre looking control tower. However it somehow works and is an excellent foil to that other pagoda style folly at Tahbilk just across the river. The highly seductive and perfumed Central Victorian Mitchelton Print Shiraz came to prominence in 1991 when it won the prestigious Jimmy Watson Trophy for the 1990 vintage. The154 hectare Mitchelton estate vineyard hugs a horseshoe bend of the Goulburn River. This body of cool water can moderate temperatures by up to 2 degrees Centigrade. The wine is based on selected fruit from the 35 year old Crescent and D Blocks located respectively on alluvial red brown loam soils and heavier clays. These gnarled “phylloxerated” and low yielding vines have somehow survived through symbiosis. The 15 year old Airstrip Block – on rootstocks – also contributes exceptional fruit. Winemaking follows the maxim: ‘Maximum attention, minimum intervention’. The wine is fermented in headed down static fermenters and matured for 16-18 months in a combination of new (around 35-40%) and old French oak. This is a superbly concentrated single estate wine with chocolaty tannin structures and mocha oak complexity. The well received Cursive Range of Rhone blended wines, the Airstrip Marsanne Roussanne Viognier, Parish Shiraz Viognier and Crescent Shiraz Mourvedre, Grenache are all made from Mitchelton fruit. The Heathcote Shiraz is archetypal. The Blackwood Park Riesling is now relegated to the Victorian Range. Andrew Caillard MW, Langton's