Leconfield Lienert Vineyards Best Wines Under $50

Typically Cab Franc is relegated to a bit part in Cabernet blends, featuring alongside one or more of the other ‘Cab Family’ varieties with Cabernet Sauvignon holding the mic. in a Nirvana like blend while some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Merlot and/or Petit Verdot draw straws for the drums, bass, bagpipes and triangle. That said, when Cab Franc branches out on its own it can be quite magnificent. We noticed on our recent trip to the home of the Cab family, Bordeaux that global warming has seen use of Cab Sauv start to fall away, with Cab Franc on the rise as it is able to retain varietal integrity as the world warms. The Leconfield is exceptional single vineyard Cab Franc from vines planted in 1982. Ageing occurs in French oak (90%) most of which is old. The wine is racked often to soften the tannins. The net result is kinda like a perfumed and expressive, yet gentler version of a top end Cabernet Sauvignon. Learn More

An exceptional, fragrant and concentrated Leconfield Cabernet Sauvignon which was aged in 50% new French oak for 18 months prior to bottling. Cassis and cinnamon on the nose leading to a palate rich with blackberries, plums, and violets. Finishes with super silky tannins. Lovely already and may live forever. Learn More

No made in every vintage and even then in tiny quantities. This blend sees early ripening Cab blended with Merlot and Cab Franc left to hand a little longer on the vine than normal. This enables the 3 varieties to be picked at the same time and co-fermented, resulting in the perfectly harmonious integration of flavours. Deep in colour; the nose is fresh, and bright, offering dark fruit aromas, cedar, cigar box and dark chocolate. It balances richness with elegance beautifully and finishes with perfectly modulated fine tannins. Learn More

A beautifully buttery and oaky Leconfield Chardonnay Chardy. Ripe tropical fruits, matchstick, stonefruits, creaminess and grilled nuts. Looking for a buttery Chard with a good hit of French oak, look no further! Learn More

The Leconfield Coonawarra Merlot is widely considered to be among the top handful produced in Australia. The 2020 vintage has an exceptional framework of acidity and fine tannin within which it is currently hoarding plenty of ripe plums, violet and tomato leaf. Allow the wine to breathe and they will be shared with you in abundance. Learn More

Another textural Rose from Leconfield with red fruits, florals, and melon. Winemaker Paul Gordon works 2 very different ferments here... one aromatic ferment... where juice was cold settled, racked with low solids and cold fermented using an aromatic yeast. The other portion was fermented with whole solids and natural yeast at a warmer temperature, then allowed to undergo malo-lactic fermentation to promote mouthfeel and length. The end result is stunning and complex. Learn More

Leconfield make consistently excellent Riesling from what are now 48 year old vines. This is a fine wine with talcum powder and citrus aromatics. The palate is textural, offering minerality and excellent length. A product of the 2021 vintage, this is both effortlessly elegant and powerful. Learn More

An exceptional wine, even more powerfully fruited than the 2019. Made by former Penfolds St Henri growers, the Lienert brothers. Each of the 7 distinct clones were harvested and fermented separately with the harvest date chosen to best allow each grape to express its best characters. For instance, the EVOS12 (Eden Valley clone) was harvested earlier than the others to allow for a beautiful perfume and liveliness in the final wine. Fermentation is done in tiny open top fermenters which are hand plunged up to 4 times a day. Certain clones are fermented cooler to better express delicate aromatics whilst some are plunged and pumped over heavily to achieve a more structural element. The trick is finding the right balance. Anyways, we love this wine and encourage you to give it a rip. Learn More

The Lienert Roussanne is a beautifully textural wine offering a complex mix of stonefruits, nuttiness, green tea, creaminess and a whisp of tannin to finish. The wine has spent time in old oak, being regularly less stirred to build texture. It is a cracking wine. Learn More

The Lienert’s have been farming in the Barossa for 150 years and decided to add some vines to their property about 20 years ago. The first fruit from 2004 and 2005 vintages went straight to the pool room, aka into Penfold’s St Henri. Funnily enough they then planted a lot more vines and introduced many more clonal variations of Shiraz and Grenache. This Grenache is a brilliant amalgam of fragrance and grunt, thanks to the careful clonal selection and extensive blending trials undertaken before settling on the final ‘just right blend’. Whilst called Sieben Klon (Seven Clones) the Grenache actually includes 8 separate clones... as follows. BVRC38 – This is one of the nursery clones and has proved to be a great backbone, a bit of a goldilocks, Just right. Lovely red fruits, balance, mid weight and acidity. Simple and clean, not overly complex but blends well with everything... 30% of this clone was whole bunch fermented. Vine Vale Ancestor 1854 – This one is a bit more beastly, darker fruit spectrum and fuller richer palate, still plenty of subtlety but with some beautiful earthen tones. McLaren Vale High Sands – Without picking favourites this one is a beauty, lifted aromatics, mid weight, fine tannins, complex and saline edge, ocean mist. Ethereal Greenock Moppa Selection – Cuttings were taken from the Moppa foothills behind the town of Greenock. This clone is quite unique in its structure as well as noticeably darker colour than most, while still retaining a vibrant fruit character. Ebenezer Selection –This clone is elegant and complex, with a finely tuned tannin profile and lifted red fruit. Langhorne Creek Selection– This clone retains wonderful acidity and has a piercing fruit and aromatic profile, the odd one out as picked much earlier ~1.5-2 weeks before the others. Krondorf Selection– High end lifted fragrance and bouncy jubey fruit, as well as an underlying savouriness which rounds out the palate nicely. Learn More