Lindemans Hunter River Burgundy Bin 6600 Shiraz 1983 (1500ml)

"Wines such as the 1983 Lindemans Hunter River burgundy Bin 6600 offer enthusiasts definitive statements of the classic Hunter style of red wine."  Financial Review

The great vintages of Lindemans Hunter River Burgundy - 1983 was rated 9/10 by Langtons for Hunter Valley reds - rank with the great wines of Maurice O'Shea, Colin Preece and Max Schubert. Lindemans famously employed the term 'Hunter River Burgundy' for their shiraz in an attempt at communicating the style of the wine - in this case, a wine relatively low in tannin with a velvety Burgundian softness that gave the illusion of lightness, but with a structure to go on almost indefinately. This magnum, in superb condition for a wine of its age, with little or no ullage, offers a precious slice of Hunter Valley and Australian wine history.  

"(1500ml) A fully mature Hunter shiraz in great voice at 35 years old. It's very complex and full of leathery, earthy, 'roasting pan' regional Hunter character; concentrated, deep and satisfying. A big, drought-year wine, which is holding its stature well."  Huon Hooke (Tasted Jul 2018)

Expert reviews

"(1500ml) A fully mature Hunter shiraz in great voice at 35 years old. It's very complex and full of leathery, earthy, 'roasting pan' regional Hunter character; concentrated, deep and satisfying. A big, drought-year wine, which is holding its stature well."  Huon Hooke, The Real Review - 96 points (Tasted Jul 2018)

"Utterly sensational and I want to write about, buy and pour this sort of Australian Shiraz for my friends whenever I possibly can. It is the most alluring expression of this noble grape – and I can also get to the bottom of a bottle unaided."  Matthew Jukes, Taken from his speech at the 2008  Hunter Valley Wine Show

"Wines such as the 1983 Lindemans Hunter River burgundy Bin 6600 offer enthusiasts definitive statements of the classic Hunter style of red wine."  David Dunstan, Financial Review

About the winery

Lindemans Hunter Valley Winery and Vineyards

Lindemans was founded in 1843 by Dr Henry John Lindeman who planted its first vines on his 816-acre property 'Cawarra' on the Upper Paterson River in the Hunter Valley wine region. The business flourished and nine years later, Lindeman established a head office, and storage and bottling facilities in Sydney.

Fast forward over a century and Lindeman's winemaker Karl Stockhausen crafted many sublime Hunter semillons (labelled Hunter River Riesling) in the mid-1950s to late-1960s, together with some great Hunter shiraz (labelled Hunter River Burgundy). The 1965 Lindemans Hunter River Burgundy Bin 3100 and 1965 Lindemans Hunter River Burgundy 3110 were iconic wines that generated a cult following in subsequent decades.

While Lindemans was established in the Hunter Valley, it was an early pioneer of cross-regional sourcing. Under the direction of Ray Kidd, one of Australia's great and largely unsung wine men, who ran Lindemans from 1962 to 1986, Lindemans expanded into the Barossa Valley, Coonawarra, Padthaway, Clare Valley and Corowa. Ray bought Leo Buring in 1962 and Rouge Homme in 1965, purchased the century-old Nursery vineyard (the oldest planting in Coonawarra) in 1965 and planted the Limestone Ridge and St Georges vineyards in 1967 and 1969 respectively. Lindemans produce their famous Trio of benchmark Coonawarra wines - St George Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Limestone Ridge Vineyard Shiraz Cabernet and Pyrus Cabernet blend - from these three vineyards.

Lindemans most successful wine was the infamous Ben Ean Moselle which was aimed at the lower end of the market and produced in enormous quantities to compete with Orlando's Barossa Pearl. It financed much of Lindemans' growth in the 1970s and reached its peak in 1979 when it accounted for more than 20% of Australia's bottled white wine sales. Ben Ean was the creation of Ray Kidd while he was Lindemans' cellar and vineyard manager in the late 1950s and was originally produced from Hunter Semillon with some Verdelho. Kidd correctly predicted that the hugely successful fruity carbonated sweet Pearl wines would lead drinkers to demand still table wines with the same features.

In 2005, the Lindemans brand and assets, which had been previously owned by Foster's and Southcorp, were acquired by Treasury Wine Estates. The Coonawarra Trio continue to be a compelling expression of wine borne of the famed terra rossa soil, but sadly various factors including time, fashion and complacency have worked against their reputation. The globalisation of the brand name has also not helped, as they seem to get lost in such a commercially focused portfolio.