2024 Heathcote Winery Mail Coach Shiraz, Heathcote

Heathcote shiraz picks up some shimmer in its deep purple hues and dances just a touch more brightly with a splash of viognier. The Mail Coach style is all medium bodied and velvety, delivering ripe red and dark plum fruits with a flowing blueberry juiciness and plenty of background spice, peppered berries and warm vanillin oak. A fine tannin presence brings structure to the generosity. Finishes on a bright, high note. Drink 2025 to 2033.

93 points Jeni Port for Halliday Wine Companion, November 2025

Heathcote Winery is housed in a restored 1850s building in the heart of the historic township and has been one of the region's most consistent producers since its original vineyard was planted on Newlans Lane in 1978. The Mail Coach name pays tribute to Thomas Craven, who established the region's first mail service in the 1850s — a fitting symbol for a wine built around consistency and reliability vintage after vintage.

The Mail Coach is drawn predominantly from the Newlans Lane Vineyard, where vines grow in the ancient red Cambrian soils that define Heathcote's reputation for premium Shiraz. A tiny inclusion of estate Viognier is co-fermented with the Shiraz, lending a subtle lift and fragrance to the wine. Fruit is hand harvested and whole-berry fermented in individual batches before maturation in a combination of French and American oak.

The 2024 shows the medium-bodied, velvety character the Mail Coach is known for. Ripe red and dark plum with a blueberry freshness on the nose, woven through with background spice, peppered berries and warm oak. The palate is generous and well-structured, with fine tannins bringing shape to the fruit and a bright, lifted finish. An approachable and immediately rewarding Heathcote Shiraz.

Drink now alongside a slow-roasted lamb shoulder, beef brisket or a well-seasoned mushroom and lentil dish.