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​Whistling Eagle Vineyard, Heathcote Ian Rathjen

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  • ​Whistling Eagle Vineyard, Heathcote

    Heathcote’s Whistling Eagle Vineyard, first planted in 1995, spans 50 hectares with vines averaging 10–20 years – the oldest hitting 30. Shiraz leads a diverse pack – sangiovese, cabernet sauvignon, grenache, nebbiolo, and more – across ancient red Cambrian soils. Ian ‘Bomber’ Rathjen, a fourth-generation grower, tends Whistling Eagle with son Scott, achieving low yields and big flavour via drip irrigation, straw mulch, and soft pruning on east-facing slopes. A true grower’s vineyard, its fruit lures in top winemakers, including De Bortoli, Tar & Roses, Wild Duck Creek, and Place of Changing Winds. The terroir, a result of Mount William’s fault line and gentle elevation, ripens fruit slowly via cool nights. Sustainability weaves in with native swards and over 100 flowering natives put in the ground since 2024, boosting bugs and bees.

  • Syrahmi Home Block Vineyard, Heathcote

    In Tooborac, the southernmost point of the Heathcote wine region, amongst the verdigris-mossed granitic boulders of the hillside, emerges the Syrahmi Home Block Vineyard, the labour of love for shiraz by Adam Foster. The Syrahmi label was launched in the mid-2000’s as a roaming project, taking in parcels of fruit from across Heathcote. However, it was the planting of the ‘Home Block Vineyard’ in 2017 that was the masterstroke. Since then, the vines have been hewn with blood, sweat and tears into the granitic soils at a high-density by Adam Foster alone. This young vineyard is the fastidious next chapter in an obsession and unwavering commitment to make the ultimate expression of shiraz, with the first release of wines coming from the 2019 vintage, due to be released in 2024.

  • Jasper Hill – Georgia’s Paddock

    Jasper Hill is one of the great foundation stones of Victoria’s Heathcote wine region, with Ron and Elva Laughton not just making iconic wines from the russet Cambrian soils but also being somewhat of a leader in low-impact viticulture. Today, Nick McNally tends to the land and vines along with his wife Emily – Ron and Elva’s daughter – who makes the wines. The vineyards are named after the Laughton daughters, with Emily’s Paddock twinned with Georgia’s Paddock, which is home to almost 13 hectares devoted to riesling, nebbiolo, fiano and, of course, shiraz.

  • Heathcote Estate

    Although nebbiolo is gaining a meaningful if modest foothold there, Heathcote Estate is a bastion of the region’s key grape variety, shiraz. That doesn’t mean that the vineyard, run by Tom Carson and Paul Viggers, is set in its ways, though. Far from it, with a program that seeks to express all the nuances of specific blocks, clones and the vagaries of vintage in as transparent a way as possible, with winemaking artefact taking a backseat and primacy placed on the health of the land and the fruit. Certified organic viticulture and an emphasis placed on biodiversity make for a property thriving with life and wines that are increasingly more elegant and naturally balanced.

  • Tellurian, Heathcote

    Ian Hopkins was drawn to Heathcote by a love for the style of shiraz that was being wrought there from the ancient Cambrian soils. A piece of red dirt on the Mount Camel Range was acquired, and the first vines – shiraz, of course – for his own venture were planted in 2002. That vineyard has now expanded to around 30 hectares, with drought-tolerant varieties like nero d’avola, fiano and carignan, and Rhône stars like grenache and mourvèdre, joining the roster, with some planted at high density and others as bush vines. Tobias Ansted holds both the winemaking and viticulture reins, with the farming certified organic but forever being pushed to exceed those standards.

  • Chalmers Heathcote Vineyard

    The Chalmers family have supplied vines and fruit to countless growers and makers over the years, with a specialisation in Italian varieties that are revered in Italy but less well known here. The Chalmers Heathcote vineyard was first planted in 2009, with 27 different varieties now in the ground that go both to their own label as well as a suite of top makers, including Momento Mori, Jamsheed, Little Reddie and Konpira Maru. The vineyard has recently achieved certification from Sustainable Winegrowing Australia and the Chalmers approach – with the guidance of viticulturist Troy McInnes – is one of adaption not just through variety, but also via norm-shattering vineyard layouts and a management plan that places soil health front and centre.

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