The Wine Front: The Red Album - Heartland reviews

Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front: The Red Album
 Jul 2007

Heartland Directors' Cut Shiraz 2005: Sweet, warm, luscious and lovely. Lots of big, syrupy, blueberried, curranty fruit, ably match to a swoon of soft, creamy smoky oak. It finishes gravelly and tannic, a fact that adds interest, but does not detract from the smoothness of the show...The fruit and oak are beautiful...

Heartland Directors' Cut Shiraz 2004: To make this wine they reduce the cropping levels used for the Heartland Shiraz in half (down to 2 tonne/acre), and then ferment it cool before maturing it in a mix of 70% French oak and 30% American. The extra effort pays off. It's meaty and savoury and cedary, with spice and a fluid sense of luscious, ripe, delicious fruit. It's not heavy, but it's generous, and there's a distinct sense of layered, savoury complexity - that subtle, savoury meatiness is a winner, especially when matched to such gorgeous, well-mannered ripeness. This is outstanding value.

Heartland Shiraz 2005: Another winner from Heartland. Just as good as the excellent 2004. Full of sweet, jammy, curranty fruit with twists of cedar and varnish. Juicy and luscious and lovely. Perfumed sweet fruit - boysenberry and plums. Yummo.

Heartland Shiraz 2004: This is a great value wine. Syrupy, slippery, sweet-fruited - it's a sweet wet smooch of a wine. Coffeed oak sits a fraction above pure, lively, plummy fruit with a hit of sweet musk and a lovely, even, drinkable weight. Supple and excellent.

Heartland Cabernet Sauvignon 2005: Beautiful nose, beautiful palate, excellent drinking. Lots of chocolate and blackcurrant and dust, with hint and, unusually black pepper. Fifty percent of this wine is unwooded, the rest aged in old oak- this is smart winemaking at play. Fantastically interesting cabernet, full of spice and appeal.

Heartland Dolcetto Lagrein 2004: What an interesting wine.  Raw meat, squashed plums, wafts of smoky, charry character and then a swift, delightful, raspberried sweetness. There's spice and bitterness too, in the European tradition, and it does exactly what its maker (Ben Glaetzer) wants to do: "provide people at this price point with something that's different and interesting" - it does that beautifully. Really good wine.

Heartland Stickleback Red 2004: Fresh, soft and delicious. Lovely meaty, spicy grenache traces to the tug of pummy softness. Awesome complexity and deliciousness at the price. Blend of cabernet, shiraz and grenache.