2004 Dutschke St. Jakobi Shiraz

(Content for this article has been provided by Brenda Dutschke)

In 1934 my Grandfather, Oscar Semmler purchased a vineyard and grazing property across the road from where he and his brothers grew up. This property is located at Lyndoch in the Barossa Valley, along side of the “St. Jakobi” Lutheran church and school. It is in the St Jakobi Church where my great grandparents, grandparents, parents and now Brenda and myself have all been married.

The Shiraz grapes for “St. Jakobi” come from this family vineyard, from vines planted in 1975 by Oscar’s son Ken Semmler (my uncle). We’ve been blessed by having this vineyard in a region that consistently produces quality fruit each year. The wine I produce from these grapes has elegance, richness in spice, plum and chocolate like characters.

This 2004 “St Jakobi” Shiraz is made using the same techniques I started with back in 1998.
We harvest the vineyard on 2 or sometimes 3 occasions, picking across the flavor spectrum, ferment in open fermenters and age the wine in a combination of both French and American oak hogsheads, purchased from 9 different coopers. This allows me to combine the wines from those better barrels to make a more complex wine while showing the full potential of the Shiraz fruit.

Dutschke St. Jakobi  Shiraz

Winemaker: Wayne Dutschke
Vineyard: Ken Semmler’s St. Jakobi Vineyard
Region: Lyndoch, Barossa Valley, South Australia
Harvest Date: 22nd 26th and 28th of March 2004
Alcohol: 15.0%
Oak Maturation: 22 months in New and Older French and American Oak Hogsheads
Cellaring potential: 5-8 years