An exploration of contemporary Heathcote with New Goodwin MW

Langton’s Master of Wine Ned Goodwin MW has just returned from a comprehensive tasting in Heathcote, a region in central Victoria that is largely known for ancient, red soils of decomposed volcanic basalt, known as Cambrian. The town of Heathcote is 110 kilometres north of Melbourne, yet the southern extremity of the region is defined by a very different geology encompassing granitic outcrops and boulders. This southern sector is a little more than 70 kilometres from Melbourne airport, making for a broad region of distinct demarcators, from the south to the north; the east to the warmer west, divided by the Camel Ranges that sluices through the uppermost section of the region.

This was news to Ned who perceived the region as but a warm, distant one, marked by those old soils from the earliest part of the Paleozoic Era that miraculously, ‘have not been covered by oceans, glaciers, or lost…’ to the elements, opines Ron Laughton, founder of the iconic Jasper Hill. From a traditional perspective, these soils are largely home to powerful expressions of shiraz, marked by ferrous tannins and aromas of terracotta, according to local maker and mentor, Simon Osicka of Paul Osicka wines. While there are many impressive examples that will serve as the focus for future reports, Ned was particularly struck by the prescience of the region's makers and their newer plantings of Mediterranean cultivars, both Italian and Rhône. 

Ned believes that these fresher plantings serve as a genetic arsenal in the face of climate change, while auguring future greatness. According to maker Tobias Ansted of Tellurian, a hotbed of creativity, ‘I planted some of these varieties as blending agents. But the quality of the wines that they produce suggests that they can stand alone.’ Indeed, Tellurian’s Carignan, Grenache Gris and Grenache, all 2022, are excellent. The ebullient Liam Anderson of Wild Duck Creek Estate, craftsman behind the stellar Wild Duck Creek Estate Roussanne Spruce 2022, avers that while the vines are still young, ‘they promise so much.’

Ned relished the comparative, blind tastings that the region’s winemakers conducted, complemented by free-thinking, constructive opinions and the incisive narrative provided by Simon and Adam Foster of Syrahmi Wines, each drawing on experience accreted in the Rhône with the likes of Chave and Chapoutier respectively. 

There were tastings of Italianate wines of both colors, white Rhône, shiraz / syrah, grenache and other Rhône expressions. Yet it was the demarcators of geology and aspect, important barometers of ‘place’, as much as the bevy of promising wines from fiano, roussanne, grenache of all hues, mourvèdre, carignan and falanghina that impressed Ned. 

Later ripening and equipped with a carapace of phenolics as much as obvious freshness, these varieties augur positively for exciting wines across a warmer future. To date, however, Heathcote has been known for sturdy iterations of shiraz, largely born of ancient, red Cambrian soils that exceed 500 million years of age, making them among the oldest in the world. 

Yet driving north from Melbourne airport, Ned was surprised to learn that the southern extremity of the Heathcote appellation, or GI (‘Geographical Indicator’ in Australian verbiage), boasts completely different geologies. Abutting Macedon, the coolest wine region on the Australian mainland, the dominant geological makeup in these parts, spread between Mia Mia, Redesdale and Tooborac, is granite. 

Large, gray granitic boulders punctuate the landscape like a vinous Stonehenge, controlling the retention and refraction of heat and Australia’s intense ultraviolet light, something that ‘we have only recently begun talking about’, according to local maker Adam Foster of Syrahmi. It is no wonder that his Home Block Vineyard faces north, albeit, is planted from east to west, controlling exposure to the intense heat of the setting sun, rather than the once-traditional north to south exposure. Planted to a density nigh on 9,200 vines per hectare, the vineyard is spread beneath the shade of the boulders, eking out the refractive light while sheltering from its intense reflection. Foster explained that intra-vineyard competition amidst the roost systems ensures that just enough nutrition is gleaned from the meagre soils to promote ripeness of the grapes, while controlling yields. While the vineyard was planted as recently as 2017, the quality of the wines is writ large. The 2021 Home Block Shiraz, a barrel sample, is savory and firm. There is little in the way of untoward sweet fruit, boding exceptionally well for its future.

And that, as a rule, is what defines Heathcote. There is a more savoury tone to the fruit of the better shiraz / syrah than that from the larger producing regions of South Australia. While the wines can be powerful and are not necessarily pitched to the floral soprano of the northern Rhône, they are grounded, less primary and less overtly ‘fruity’ than many other Australian regional iterations. Best, the tannins are firm and strident across the palate, arcing from fore to aft while cleaving any excess into a nourishing whole.

Yet as Ned enjoyed comparative tastings across Heathcote’s sub-regions, he came to understand that the degree of savouriness and tannic fortitude in the wines is not only maker-dependent, but influenced heavily by aspect as much as geology. The southern granitic sites impart freshness and a certain delicacy, exhibited by Wild Duck Creek Estate Springflat Shiraz 2021 as much as the Syrahmi wines, while the decomposed volcanic basalt that comprises the ochre Cambrian soils of the central zone, around the Heathcote township, confer a dusty ‘terracotta earthenware note’ according to Simon Osicka of Paul Osicka wines. Jasper Hill Georgia & Friends Shiraz is archetypal. 2021, a riveting example from a cooler, attenuated vintage. The tannins are long-limbed, refined and flecked with that Heathcote pottery-ware typicity and a skerrick of tea tree. Ditto, Sanguine Inception Shiraz 2021, another stellar example.

Meanwhile there are the Camel Ranges to consider. The warmer western side of these gentle mountains delivers greater concentration to wines such as the brilliant Tellurian Sommet Shiraz 2021, over the cooler eastern side and its leaner, more fragrant mien. None more exemplary than Kennedy Cambria Shiraz 2021. Different again, the north-eastern extremity of the region around Graytown. This zone abuts the neighboring GI of Nagambie, a sub-region of silty, alluvial floodplains with dense fissures splitting the topsoils. Here, cabernet sauvignon as much as shiraz puts on a good show. Paul Osicka Moormbool Shiraz 2021 displays a patina of powdery tannins that immediately transports the drinker to those friable soils, the place and the wondrous diversity of a region that already delivers great things, while promising so much more. 

Further wines of note include Condie Mataro School House Lane 2021, Silver Spoon Grenache The Stirling 2022, the phenolic grunt and textural intrigue of Bull Lane Marsanne 2022, Chalmers lip-smacking Falanghina 2022 and the textural tour de force that is Lo Stesso Fiano 2023, from Emily Laughton at Jasper Hill. Heathcote 2 Grenache 2021, too, a wine of such paradoxical freshness and power, that it sears itself into the memory bank as an exceptional grenache on par with the best, even from McLaren Vale.

Some regions sit on their laurels and wait for the parting of the seas, Heathcote is dynamic, creative and resolute. Great things are happening, and even better things lie on the horizon.