Heartland, Shiraz 2012

The $15 to $20 price point is a crowded and competitive space amongst Australian wines. And our iconic Aussie varietal, Shiraz, is no exception.

At least in my house, it is normally the Barossa and McLaren Vale Shiraz that dominate the quaffing space in the cellar, but having recently sampled the Heartland 2012 Shiraz, all that may change!

Made from fruit grown at Langhorne Creek (about 80 kms to the South-East of Adelaide), the much cooler climate enabled winemaker, Ben Glaetzer, to produce an elegant, rather than jammy, style of South-Australian Shiraz. Where other South Aussie Shiraz are jammy, ripe and occasionally even flyblown, the Heartland is rich but fruit driven and subdued by natural acidity and constrained by the tannic influence of both French and American oak.

It’s really a surprisingly palatable drop for the price point and is really quite approachable. In the mouth, it shows a lolly shop of flavours including licorice, dark chocolate, milk bottles and even some old-fashioned mint leaves right across the palate but with perhaps just a touch of sweet plums at the back end.

The Heartland is a lively red colour in the glass and gives the impression of a style that is made to drink now, but at the sub $20 asking price, you probably wouldn’t expect a keeper.