Quaff 2005 Best New Label

THE BEST 300 WINES IN AUSTRALIA FOR UNDER $15.00

BEST NEW LABEL: HEARTLAND STICKLEBACK

"With a perfumed, lively red and a ripe, mouth-filling white both rated Bloody Good in this year's edition of Quaff - Stickleback is easily the best new Quaffing brand we came across in 2004. The wines are from Heartland, a newish company established by a consortium of South Australian industry figures, and they're made by Ben Glaetzer, a worthy winner of the 2004 Qantas/The Wine Magazine Young Winemaker of the Year Award."

".many of the red wines in this chapter offer some of the best value to be found in the whole of Quaff - especially the wonderful new Heartland Stickleback red, which is a great debut."

Bloody Good: 2003 Heartland Stickleback Red

"This lovely new wine is the latest creation from young gun Ben Glaetzer, a worthy winner of the 2004 Qantas/The Wine Magazine Young Winemaker of the Year Award. A bold purple, perfumed and lively blend of cabernet sauvignon, shiraz and Grenache, it's full of big, chewy, ripe black cherry fruit and bright tannin. Exceptional value."

Bloody Good: 2004 Heartland Stickleback White

"A terrific partner for the Stickleback Red, also rated Bloody Good in the Other Red Blends section of this book. This blend of Semillon, chardonnay and verdelho is bursting with fresh white grape pulp flavours, is ripe and mouth-filling, but it also has a tang of lemon and lime curd to it. Great debut label from young gun wine-maker Ben Glaetzer."

KEY: Bloody Good - A really delicious example of the style that over delivers on quality and offers great value.