Lienert Vineyards Kyffhäuser Eden Valley Chardonnay 2024

Tasting Note

Pale straw in colour, this wine opens with lifted aromas of white peach and melon layered with flint, lavender and a subtle hint of ginger. The palate is youthful yet textural, showing fine acidity and mineral drive, with stone-fruit flavours of peach and nectarine supported by beautifully integrated oak and gentle lactic complexity through a long, balanced finish.

The Story

Frederick I “Barbarossa,” the German born 12th-century Holy Roman Emperor, supposedly drowned during the Third Crusade, but folklore claims he lives, and still sleeps beneath the Kyffhäuser mountains, his red beard growing through a stone table, awaiting the day when Gerrmany needs him the most.

Our “Kyffhäuser” Eden Valley Vineyard sits at 500 metres above sea level, amongst the highest elevation in the Barossa wine region. She borders the famed Kaiser Stuhl (the King’s Throne) Conservation Park. To name the vineyard we felt it only fitting that, after a long day of ruling from the King’s Throne, Barbarossa might sleep beneath his legendary Kyffhäuser mountain, or in our case, beneath our vineyard, giving rise to the vineyard’s nickname.

Winemaking

Crafted from old vines planted in 1982 on sandy loam strewn with gravelly quartz in the cool heights of Eden Valley, this Mendoza clone Chardonnay was selectively hand-harvested on 1 March 2024, destemmed in the vineyard and pressed within the hour to capture pristine fruit character. Gently oxidatively handled with minimal settling before a cool 12–15°C wild-style ferment in French oak hogsheads (30% new) over 18 days, it then spent a full year in barrel undergoing full malolactic fermentation and aging on lees for creamy texture and complexity. Bottled in December 2025, it offers a finely structured, mineral-driven Chardonnay that marries stone-fruit purity with savoury depth and elegant oak.