On the nose, St. John’s Road Block 8 Shiraz is delicate and aromatic, with aromas of dark cherry, blackberry, raspberry, a hint of spice and some chocolate. Very complex and exciting. On the palate it is very lively, with the taste of concentrated red fruit, dried herbs and venison. A very structured, interesting wine with grippy tannins, a not too high alcohol content and a dry, long finish.

The Block 8 sub-section is located at the highest point in the northeastern corner of our Resurrection vineyard, where the soils become shallow and rocky. The soil profile and aspect of this block results in early flavour ripening and consequently, lower alcohols in the finished wine. This section is planted to Maywald clone Shiraz, which are cuttings from some of the earliest and oldest Shiraz vines in the Barossa, Australia and probably the Globe.

Open-fermented, matured in used French hogsheads. The vineyard was planted with cuttings from 100+yo vines known as the Maywald Selection, the decision to use old oak to highlight the vibrantly fragrant black fruits has resulted in a totally delicious spring-fresh wine. 

After managing a B&B in the south of France, Martin and Vivien Rawlinson were inspired to establish St John’s Road in 2001, with a vision to produce full flavoured, yet elegant, wines which reflect the essence of the Barossa. Custodianship of St John’s Road now rests with Phil Lehmann, Jonathon Hesketh, Dale Wyman, Alister Mibus and a variety of Barossa wine growing families. Their aim is to uphold Martin and Vivien’s vision of producing wines that are not only true to the Barossa, but also the sub districts and vineyards they are grown in.

As the youngest son of two Barossa icons – Margaret and Peter Lehmann – Phil Lehmann’s path into the Australian wine industry may have been somewhat predetermined. Initially weathering the irresistible pull of the wine industry, Phil took a detour from wine and completed an Honours Degree in Electrical Engineering at Adelaide University, intermingled with a few harvest stints with his family’s business at Peter Lehmann Wines. The ‘allure’ of a career in Electrical Engineering was short-lived and Phil could no longer ignore what had always been there, and set off on a 2 year international winemaking pilgrimage throughout Napa, Stellenbosch and Burgundy.

For the next ten years, Phil worked a number of vintages as a winemaker at Yalumba, and again in the family business, Peter Lehmann Wines, as well as with Kym Teusner at Teusner Wines. The lure of joining the Hesketh Family, who’s patriarch Robert was instrumental in the 1979 creation of Peter Lehmann Wines (originally Mastersons), and the opportunity to build on the solid winemaking foundations of St John’s Road Barossa proved too compelling, and in July 2013, Phil joined St John’s Road as our Senior Winemaker.