Langhorne Creek may be seen as unfashionable and it certainly doesn’t have a Cube but it does grow very good grapes that have long gone into many big name wines. Heartland make some very tidy wines at very tidy prices. Winemaker Ben Glaetzer. Matured in French and American oak.

Heartland Wines, Spice Trader, Shiraz, Langhorne Creek, 2014

Dark garnet in the glass with an obsidian core. Aromas of black pepper, Christmas pine, blackberry, pencil/graphite and mocha coffee tinged oak. Darkly spiced fruit profile which carries a little swagger: blackberries and black cherries with a dark minerally line running through as a spine. Notes of maturity are poking through as the tannins settle down. There’s a little heat and sweet oak nuances, but good gateway to the dark side of shiraz.

RRP: $16.99
Alc: 14.5%
Rating: 16/20

Wine sample courtesy of Heartland Wines