Peter Lehmann Barossa Australia, Here At Cleveland Park Wines, Wash. D.C. ( Through Janet Fennelly's Eyes ) : Wed. April 15th, 2009

Janet Fennelly and I bonded pretty much immediately. It was fun when Chrissy Carpenter of Washington Wholesalers brought her by earlier this morning. I was in a pretty bad mood because of some things that had just happened a few minutes prior at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits. I did not know in what direction the day would go at this point and I was feeling uneasy. However, Janet and Chrissy made me smile and forget my troubles and I liked the wines anyway from PETER LEHMANN : I pretty much always have : ever since Robert Whale brought them to my attention so many, many , many years ago : way back in the 1080's! Those were the days when everyone knew and loved these wines and no one could seem to get enough of the " sticky " sweet, dessert Muscat that they make a dole out in half bottles to those lucky enough to get one. Thanks Robert for all your hard work in the past promoting PETER LEHMANN and in bringing these wines to the attention of the U.S. market.

As Janet nicely explained the HESS group helped get Peter Lehmann out of a stocky situation ( pun intended after what I had already said ) when it looked like he might have to declare bankruptsy and sell everything or go out of business entirely? I don't remember exactly : it's all a bit cloudy now to me. However the wines shined today with Janet and Chrissy. We tried all seven of these wines shown here twice in these photographs.

Janet showed first the repackaged dry white Semillon that Peter is so famous for. Remember the label on the old bottle with the woman and how the BATF decided that for modesty's sake that the dress on her had to cover more of her? Ouch! I do love all these labels, really I do. Perhaps I like the Cabernet Sauvignon label the best however with the woman and her dark hair. I blogged about a bottle that was given to me by my good friend years ago of this Cabernet when she worked for the Michael Franklin selections. You can use the search engine here to read that if you like.

As you can see I really do blog : these entries are a bit all over the place as one idea leads into another and makes me think of this or that wine/situation/person. date/ company, etcetera. It's all tied together : that's the beauty of wine - it brings people together and makes them smile.

I was taking pictures right and left, from above and from below and searching all the time to capture segments of this moment that was ours and ours alone and that we were learning to share together and learn and gain joy and pleasure from. That's a rare gift and one that does not come easy as all we think about often are the abstracts of the business with points and scores and selling units and boxes and number of lots and lots of cases to always improve on previous numbers and goals. Ouch! I hope I can do more than that in this glorious wine business, really I pray that I do and that I share this with others.

I loved the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon today! It was my pick of the lot. I liked them all : I also loved the repackaged Semillon called " Layers ": it is so bright and fresh and mouth-filling in a thoroughly enjoyable way! I joked with Janet that Peter was losing his " big opportunity " by not making a Muscadelle dry white, or that he was missing the boat by not jumping on the grape-band-wagon of the Tempranillo that was spreading like wildfire across Australia. He should remove all the color and call his " new " white Temillon or Temprillon and add a splash of either Tempranillo or Semillon to it and keep the word " Layers ". Anyone been layered recently? When was the last time you actually were layered?

The label " Layers " I must admit publicly is nice but still a bit ambiguous. Without reading the description provided in the " new " pamphlet that Janet is working hard on to finish I will add my two-bits about this word : " layers ". Does it refer specifically to the grape Semillon that has suffered and died an ignoble death next to it's partner and ever-popular grape the Sauvignon Blanc? Does it imply that one will get layered more by drinking Semillon than Sauvignon Blanc? There might be some validity to this I humbly offer up.

I mean, the Semillon for me is quite rich and full and viscouus on my palate and it does almost give me a larger load of intense and lush and weighty flavors that could lull and charm and pacify and couch or bed me faster than the Sauvignon Blanc which has the opposite effect on me. With Sauvignon Blanc I want to hear the song " Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting ". With the Semillon it might be " Lay Lady Lay " or " Girl From The North Country " : both Bob Dylan songs. This is all fun of course. And I can't wait to see if the possible t-shirts proposal will become a reality. Ask Janet to tell you about that. I don't want to rob her or PETER LEHMANN'S thunder.

So, getting back onto solid ground ( excuse me for my earthy/pithy/risque slip into less charted waters there briefly - did you enjoy/like it?!? I hope so : there should always be a bit of us that is young, youthful, naughty and edgy ) I do really like the " Layers " Semillon and will carry it along with the fabulous 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon and also the Clancy's red. I have given Chrissy and order for these three to come to Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 Tel : 202-363-4265 sales@clevelandparkwine.com www.clevelandparkwine.com ) on her next order( first of May, 2009 ).

As I said the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon was my favorite because all it's components were in perfect harmony with each other and the wine was drinking beautifully now and giving me no reason to tell anyone to wait any longer. It's fabulous now!

I liked all seven wines and we will have some " new " vintages of PETER LEHMANN shortly. I must ask Janet about the " sticky " Semillon? She has already volunteered to sometime in the future do an in-store wine-tasting at Cleveland Park. That will be fun when it happens. In the meantime Chrissy will do one soon I believe. Stay-tuned for more information on that. I will also add soon my comments on the rest of the wines tasted earlier today.

Go to : Janet Fennelly ( US Brand Development Manager ) of PETER LEHMANN ( Barossa, South Australia ) 312 West 90th Street, New York , NY 10024 janet.fennelly@peterlehmannwines.com www.peterlehmannwines.com ) for more technical information.

Janet wrote in our guest book : " One of the most entertaining and enjoyable sales calls I ever experienced! Thank you for the laughs. Looking forward to seeing you sometime soon. " signed Janet Fennelly

Cheers, TONY











Enjoy, a great California gal with four children living in New York with curly, silky red hair in store repping for Peter with Chrissy Carpenter! Cheers, TONY