Heartland Directors' Cut Shiraz, Langhorne Creek Limestone Coast 2009

Press

Vanilla oak, chocolate, blueberry and blackberry. Extracted oaky palate with silky tannins.

Decanter World Wine Awards 2011 - Bronze Medal

When this first appeared a few years back it was astonishing stuff, reeking of lime zest and eucalyptus ripping through blackcurrant fruit of almost painful intensity. That was when most of the fruit came from a new vineyard called Wirrega, in the middle of nowhere except eucalyptus forest. Now, most of the fruit comes from Langhorne Creek, just south of McLaren Vale, and the character has changed. That blast of lime and eucalyptus has given way to something much softer, lusher, more soothing in character. That’s what Langhorne Creek is famous for – the ability to ripen grapes to a succulent concentration of richness without going troppo. This is a caressing mouthful of fudge and chocolate, vanilla and coconut cream all draped around a fine sweet core of ripe black plum and brazil nuttiness.

Oz Clarke 250 Best Wines

Gordon Getty, No 334 on Forbes’ list of the world’s billionares, owns two wineries in Napa: Each produces several thousand cases a year. In other words, Getty could drink his own wine every day of the year, or splurge on any bottle in the world. So what does the 75-year old son of oil baron J Paul Getty Sr prefer? Great wines that cost $25 to $30. One of his most recent favourites is Heartland Directors' Cut Shiraz from Australia. Getty believes it’s in the same league as Henschke Hill of Grace or Penfolds Grange. The Directors’ Cut is a rich, dense, powerhouse of a wine with rushes of fruit and oak flavours.

“Wines a Billionaire Drinks”Forbes.com