2024 Heathcote Winery The Origin Shiraz, Heathcote

Welcome to the more elegant side of Heathcote shiraz. Dare I suggest the more refined side? Everything just clicks into place effortlessly. At its heart lies a core of beautifully ripe fruit brimming in black berries, plums, blue fruits, anise, allspice, cacao and bay leaf. The palate is juicy, dense and lithe, dressed in fine tannins. It's a well-measured wine across the board, including the level of harmonious oak. And it lasts and lasts on the tongue.

95 points Jeni Port winecompanion.com.au

Heathcote Winery The Origin Shiraz from Heathcote is a powerful, site defining wine that sits at the core of the winery’s identity and its connection to one of Australia’s most distinctive terroirs. Heathcote Winery was founded in the early nineteen seventies by Bruce Gardiner, a true pioneer who recognised the potential of Heathcote’s ancient Cambrian soils long before the region gained wider acclaim. The Origin Shiraz draws fruit from the estate’s oldest and most established vineyards, planted on deep red Cambrian earth rich in ironstone and minerals. These ancient soils are central to the wine’s character, delivering natural concentration, firm tannins and a distinctive savoury, mineral edge.

The Heathcote climate is warm and continental, yet moderated by elevation and cooling evening breezes, allowing Shiraz to ripen fully while retaining freshness and structure. Fruit is hand harvested and fermented using traditional methods, with careful extraction to build depth without excess weight. Maturation in French oak is handled with restraint, chosen to enhance texture, spice and longevity rather than impose sweetness or overt oak flavour. The philosophy is clear and unwavering: let site and soil lead.

The aromatics are deep and commanding. Blackberry, black plum and dark cherry sit alongside cracked black pepper, anise and clove. Beneath the fruit lies a powerful savoury core of ironstone earth, graphite and dried herbs, unmistakably Heathcote in character. With air, notes of cocoa, tobacco leaf and subtle smoked meat begin to emerge, adding complexity and gravitas.

The palate is full bodied, structured and authoritative. Dense dark fruit flows through firm, finely grained tannins that give the wine shape and length without heaviness. Flavours of black fruit, spice, dark chocolate and mineral earth build steadily, supported by bright acidity that keeps the wine balanced and alive. The finish is long, savoury and persistent, lingering with pepper, stone and dark fruit. While impressive now with decanting, The Origin is built for the cellar, evolving beautifully over fifteen to twenty years into leather, truffle and complex savoury layers.

A natural partner for grilled ribeye, slow cooked beef, lamb shoulder, venison, mushroom dishes or aged hard cheeses. Heathcote Winery The Origin Shiraz is a benchmark expression of Cambrian soil Shiraz, bold, uncompromising and deeply connected to place.