2022 Heathcote Estate Single Vineyard Shiraz Half Bottle 375ml, Heathcote

Please note – this is the 375mL size (half/demi bottle) of this wine

Very dense, dark, concentrated purple colour, opaque in the glass; the bouquet reserved and ripe, clean and savoury. It has a lovely core of sweet ripe blackberry fruit followed by a wall of supple, ripe tannins. Full-bodied, concentrated, powerful and muscular: an iron fist in a velvet glove. Outstanding and super-ageworthy shiraz. Drink to 2047.

96 points Huon Hooke for The Real Review, August 2025

A Heathcote shiraz in serious, intellectual mode delves beyond the obvious to reveal an inherent complexity and velvet-like density, all within the most elegant of shapes. Red fruits, blackberries, bracken, earth, abundant woody spices and fine tannins build layer upon layer. Brings the region's top red grape into full, glorious perspective. Deserves your attention. Drink to 2037.

96 points & Special Value Jeni Port for Halliday Wine Companion, June 2024

The nose is deeply scented, with brooding aromas of blackcurrants, blood plums, ferric earth and spices. The palate is full-bodied with firmly integrated tannins and bright acidity, giving notes of mulberry bush, mocha, licorice and olive tapenade. Very powerful, with an underlying freshness and seamless tannins. Drinkable or hold.

94 points James Suckling, October 2024

The 2022 Organic Single Vineyard is a deep color in the glass. It offers muscular aromas of boot polish, new leather and black slate with well-matched oak. The package is slick, with dense yet manicured tannins underpinned by juicy acidity. It's quite a firm style that needs time to flower. Drink to 2032.

90 points Angus Hughson for Vinous, November 2024

Heathcote Estate has steadily built a reputation for wines of exceptional character since bringing Yabby Lake winemaker Tom Carson on board in 2008.

The certified organic vineyard is in the heart of Heathcote on the famous strip of ancient Cambrian soil that defines the region. This deep red earth, rich in ironstone delivers wines showing a combination of structure, mineral complexity and natural depth that is difficult to replicate elsewhere. Shiraz thrives in Heathcote's warm days and cool nights, the long season building concentration without losing freshness.

Fruit from the six individual blocks is handled separately in the winery, allowing each parcel to be vinified to its own character before the final blend is assembled. Fermentation takes place in traditional open fermenters with a portion of whole bunches, before the wine is transferred to French oak puncheons for malolactic fermentation and maturation.

The resultant wine is built on texture and integration rather than extraction. The nose is deep and fragrant with blackcurrant, blood plum and dark spice, with a thread of ironstone minerality running beneath. The palate is full-bodied but finely structured, with integrated tannins, bright acidity and a long, seamless finish that speaks clearly of its ancient soils.

Drinking well now but has genuine cellaring potential. It rewards being aired ahead of enjoying it with beef short rib or aged hard cheeses, anything really that can hold its own against a wine of this depth and generosity.