Langhorne Creek
HLDCSH
Region: Australia, Langhorne Creek
Grape variety: Shiraz
Background: A collaboration of industry veterans Ben Glaetzer, Scott Collet, Grant Tilbrook and Nick Keukenmeester who have developed Heartland into an award-winning winery, since producing the first vintage in 2001. They embrace the best Australian fruits and create wines of balance and texture with a uniquely Australian identity.
Tasting notes: The deep colour gives a clue to the concentration of aromas and flavours to follow. Dark cherry and blackberry fruit dominate the nose with undercurrents of black liquorice and pepper. The palate brings to mind a berry compote enriched by elusive hints of spice. Directors’ Cut Shiraz is famous for its poise and balance and this vintage is no exception.
Reviews
Rating 94 James Halliday Wine Companion, July 26, 2014: "Thick oak and thick dark fruit. Shoot first, ask questions later. Coconut, chocolate, mint and toast notes are slathered on saturated blackberry and plum. Tannin is not impeccable but it roars through the wine with impressive force. Big-boned, big-bodied wine."
Rating 4.5/5 Tony Love's TOP 100 Wines, The Advertiser Special Edition, July 19, 2014: "From older vineyards in a crackingly good regional vintage, this shows a bit of oak, but it's very good French wood, adding pepper, anise and nutmeg-like spices to accentuate the shiraz aromatics with earthy and mineral layers also in play. Flavour, flavour, flavour - delicious, intense and sophisticated."
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HLCS
Region: Australia, Langhorne Creek
Grape variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Background: A collaboration of industry veterans Ben Glaetzer, Scott Collet, Grant Tilbrook and Nick Keukenmeester who have developed Heartland into an award-winning winery, since producing the first vintage in 2001. They embrace the best Australian fruits and create wines of balance and texture with a uniquely Australian identity.
Tasting notes: Deep ruby colour. Aromas of freshly crushed berries stand out, supported by cinnamon and fennel. An ample palate of bright fruit is complimented by solid tannins with a fine, long finish.
VEGAN
HLSH
Region: Australia, Langhorne Creek
Grape variety: Shiraz
Background: A collaboration of industry veterans Ben Glaetzer, Scott Collet, Grant Tilbrook and Nick Keukenmeester who have developed Heartland into an award-winning winery, since producing the first vintage in 2001. They embrace the best Australian fruits and create wines of balance and texture with a uniquely Australian identity.
Tasting notes
HLSSH
Region: Australia, Langhorne Creek
Grape variety: Shiraz
Background: A joint venture of industry veterans: winemakers Ben Glaetzer and Scott Collett, and wine industry management specialist Grant Tilbrook. Heartland uses grapes grown in the Limestone Coast and Langhorne Creek predominantly from vineyards owned by the partners. It currently exports 60% of its make to 38 international markets. The wines are principally contract-made at Barossa Vintners and represent excellent value for money. Ben Glaetzer makes wines for his family brand plus Mitolo in McLaren Vale and the Heartland wines from Langhorne Creek. Stickleback is Heartlandʼs entry-level red.
Tasting notes: Made by one of Australia’s top winemakers – Ben Glaetzer - spiced plums, blueberries and black pepper. It has lush toasty, vanilla aromas coursing through the silky cassis fruit. Fantastic value for money.
From Barossa's superstar winemaker Ben Glaetzer. If this is his entry level - you can imagine what Amon-Ra tastes like.
Bright red in colour with fresh aromas of blackcurrant, dark fruits and herbal spice. Mouth filling flavours of plum and chocolate intermingle with subtle oak and smooth tannins. Showing aromas of spicy dark cherry, blackcurrant and blackberry with a whiff of licoricey, it is generously flavoured with fresh, dark berry fruits and dense, inky characters. Fine-grained tannins keep things in balance, leaving an aftertaste of spice, cloves and dark chocolate.
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HLO
Region: Australia, Langhorne Creek
Grape variety: Shiraz & Cabernet Sauvignon
Background: A collaboration of industry veterans Ben Glaetzer, Scott Collet, Grant Tilbrook and Nick Keukenmeester who have developed Heartland into an award-winning winery, since producing the first vintage in 2001. They embrace the best Australian fruits and create wines of balance and texture with a uniquely Australian identity.
Tasting notes: Dark fruit dominates the palate at this stage, while the structure is discernable and ready to support the wine.
The intensity of this wine provides all the impetus required for long term cellaring, while the deft handling of oak and the finely tuned acidity will ensure that it stays on track to be a balanced and generous wine.Reviews
Score: 95/100 - Ray Jordan - Wine Pilot: Good vintage, classy wine. A compelling combination. This excellent blend of cabernet and shiraz from the 2016 vintage is only just, and ever so just, starting to see some initial development. But it is so far from where it will finish. Rich and smooth dark chocolate and dark fruit characters merge seamlessly with the cedary oak and fine chalky tannins. There's a slightly liqueur fruit thing happening there. A great example of what this region can do, amply demonstrating the virtues of blending these two varieties.
Points: 95/100 - Tyson Stelzer: Ben Glaetzer has long championed Shiraz Cabernet blends in the Barossa, and has tactically highlighted Cabernet to take the lead in his Langhorne Creek flagship. Redcurrants pop with crunchy acidity, gently accented with regional menthol, well married with the plush blueberries of Shiraz. Expertly deployed oak brings dark chocolate to the union, fixing an impressively fine, confident tannin frame that confirms both persistence and endurance.
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HLSTSC
Region: Australia, Langhorne Creek
Grape variety: Cabernet Sauvignon & Shiraz
Background: A collaboration of industry veterans Ben Glaetzer, Scott Collet, Grant Tilbrook and Nick Keukenmeester who have developed Heartland into an award-winning winery, since producing the first vintage in 2001. They embrace the best Australian fruits and create wines of balance and texture with a uniquely Australian identity.
Tasting notes: The colour evokes rich crimson cloaks and rubies with an opaque core of intense fruit. Old fashioned liquorice straps and ripe raspberries ride shotgun while blackberry fruit drives the wagon across the plain. The palate is all about the fruit with enough structure to see you home. The length of finish surprises while it delights. A burst of dark primary fruit hits the palate with a compote of blueberries, blackberries and currants. These powerful fruit notes can engulf the uninitiated, but waves of spice, fresh spearmint and dried herbs can be discovered by seasoned flavour explorers.
Awards
The Great Australian Red, an important Australian wine challenge, awarded this Shiraz Cabernet blend 2 trophies!
The Great Australian Red is a competition created by Australia’s Tyson Stelzer and the U.K.’s Matthew Jukes to showcase the best of Australia’s classic Shiraz-Cabernet Sauvignon blends.
Spice Trader won The Get Wines Direct Trophy for The Best Wine Under $20 and The Amcor Closures Stelvin Trophy for The Best Shiraz-Dominant Blend.
VEGAN
HLDCCS
Region: Australia, Langhorne Creek
Grape variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Background: A collaboration of industry veterans Ben Glaetzer, Scott Collet, Grant Tilbrook and Nick Keukenmeester who have developed Heartland into an award-winning winery, since producing the first vintage in 2001. They embrace the best Australian fruits and create wines of balance and texture with a uniquely Australian identity.
Tasting notes:
Look for layers of dark fruit that build in the glass with ever sip. This is complimented by black spice, olive tapenade and dried herbs and offset with chalky tannins and a rock-solid structure.Reviews
Ken Gargett - Wine Pilot - 94 Points: "Director's Cut Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 - Another superb Langhorne Creek red, this is all class. Old vine Cabernet is harvested at night in order not to lose any freshness. Initial skin contact and seven days cool ferment on the same yeasts as used for the Shiraz. The wine is hand-plunged three times daily. Maturation then occurs in oak hogsheads, 75% new, for 14 months. Ben Glaetzer has been quoted as suggesting that this might be the finest vintage he has experienced from the region. It shows. Opaque red in colour, this has notes of dried herbs, leather and animal skins with tobacco leaf, blackberries and cloves. Seamless, juicy and concentrated, it is finely balanced with satiny tannins. Gorgeous on the palate. This is fabulous stuff now but has many years ahead of it, if you prefer hiding some away in the cellar."
Tony Love - Halliday Wine Companion - 94 Points: "Ripe cabernet aromas from the outset. A full-bodied and chocolate-rich palate, fleshy and grapey as well. There's a blueberry and licorice pop to the mid palate as the wine opens with a little time in a decanter. Will gather more interest in its expression over the next 5 years."
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HLICS
Region: Australia, Langhorne Creek
Grape variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Tasting notes: The flavour is very intense with a nose of ripe fruit nicely blended into the warm spice scent that lingers. The mouthfeel is big and warming with gripping tannins and silky-smooth delivery. This wine delivers much more than the price point.
VEGAN