Sips: with its ‘Layers,’ Australia’s Peter Lehmann produces a distinctive white blend

In the late-summer heat wave we’re having in the Northeast, any white wine that has a relatively low 11.5 percent alcohol is going to be at least be worth a try, which is why I pulled Peter Lehmann’s 2009 “Layers” White out of the wine rack here at our place in the  country. Beyond the heat, I’ll admit that I’ve been distracted in the last couple of days, which is why this is the first post of the week . (The chief distraction is an eight-week old puppy, a  cute little Lab/Pointer mix we adopted over the  weekend from a rescue program.)

But back to the wine. “Layers” is made from grapes from the Barossa Valley and Adelaide regions of South Australia and is a blend, which is, one may conclude, what they’re getting at with the name, although you might not know it because the bottle provides no clues except for images of five grapes on the front label. Peter Lehmann’s website reveals a mix of semillon, chardonnay, pinot gris, gewürztraminer and muscat. I had thought there might be some riesling in the mix. Oh, well.

The wine shows lots of component parts for  the suggested price of  $16 – a good deal of lemon-lime plus white peach, apricot, honey and some baking spices. I thought it might pair well with one of my favorite pasta dishes -- broccoli rabe sautéed with sweet and hot Italian sausage – and it did, providing a refreshing wash-down to this not unsubstantial dish, especially on a very warm night. It’s easy to drink with nice complexity – a winning combination for casual drinking and a range of white-wine foods. Imported by The Hess Collection New World Wines, Napa, California. (Received as a press sample.)

del.icio.us Tags: Barossa Valley,Australia white wine,Gewurztraminer,Chardonnay,Pinot Gris,Semillon,Peter Lehmann,Peter Lehmann Layers,Australian white blends,Edwad Deitch,Hess Collection