2023 Heathcote Estate Single Vineyard Shiraz, Heathcote

Gosh, this is such a good wine. It was a super vintage in Heathcote, and you can see it immediately on the nose with further highlights on the palate. This is not a massively opulent style of wine, but it has tremendous concentration of fruit delivered with such poise and elegance, spicy, savoury dark fruits, a little chocolate, plenty of those plummy riches. And finished with incredible polish with the use of 500-liter French oak puncheons. It seems the 20% whole bunch inclusions have certainly brought that palate into focus. An exceptional wine. Drink 2026 to 2046.

97 points Ray Jordan for Wine Pilot, April 2026

Delves deeply into the heart of Heathcote shiraz and it's there that lovers of the grape will find total enjoyment. Gotta love the combination of black and red fruits, the energy they emit, and the elegant addition of spices, briar, earth, smart vanillin oak and a mineral-like vigour that flows through the wine. It's swept along in grainy, ripe tannins, lingering long on the finish. Drink 2025 to 2038.

96 points Jeni Port for Halliday Wine Companion, Special Value, March 2025

Dark-fruited and perfumed aromas of blackberries, black plums, graphite, charred meat, spices, iron, violets and bay leaves. The palate is full-bodied with firm, tightly woven tannins and a dense, textural mouthfeel, plus drive and precision. The finish is long and savory, while still expressing the cool vintage. Drink or hold. 

94 points James Suckling, July 2025

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 that can hold its own against a wine of this depth and generosity.