Langhorne Creek: Australia’s hidden fine wine region

The 175th anniversary of Bleasdale winery shines necessary light on one of Australia’s most significant yet least celebrated wine regions of renown – Langhorne Creek.

The region is located in the southern reaches of South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula, near the mouth of Australia’s longest river, the Murray River.

This big, bountiful district has broad alluvial soils that benefit from irrigation off flooding local rivers during winter.

Scroll down for 10 wines from Langhorne Creek

It has provided grapes that characterise the generous, open-hearted flavours beloved in some of Australia’s most popular commercial wines – such as Wolf Blass Wines – but mostly kept anonymous as a secret blending agent.

Bleasdale has led the charge to change this perception…

Starting out

The Langhorne Creek region’s potential was first realised by Frank Potts, a young carpenter and surveyor’s assistant who was among the first English settlers to arrive in South Australia in 1836.

After travelling south from the fledgling city of Adelaide to find his own patch of land, Potts signed the deed to a 48.5ha property on the banks of the Bremer River in 1850.

Planting Shiraz and Verdelho vines, he established Bleasdale to make fortified wines that were exported to England.

Since then, Langhorne Creek has produced wine grapes on a vast scale – across 5,800ha – making it larger than McLaren Vale.

It flourished after a surge of vine planting in the 1970s and again through the 1990s, but this also brought challenges to shift from the initial pursuit of tonnage to instead pursue excellence.

Hidden in plain sight

Such abundance saw 75% of the annual harvest sold to companies outside the region, though it rarely saw Langhorne Creek credited on wine labels.

Most famously, Barossa-based Wolf Blass Wines won consecutive Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophies – the premium accolade of the annual Melbourne Royal Wine Awards, for one-year-old red wine – for its Cabernet-Shiraz blend in 1974, 1975 and 1976, thanks to the ripe roundness of Langhorne Creek fruit that supplied the generous belly of these wines.

The wins sparked a rush of outsider winery buyers wanting access to this ‘secret’ ingredient for superior red wine blends, but this change in fortune also saw more Langhorne Creek growers retain fruit for their own wine brands.

Changing fortunes

Bleasdale led the charge, making the most of its historical vines that had been bolstered by significant plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache and Malbec vines, which remain a core asset to the winery today.

The turning point in Langhorne Creek’s fortunes came when Bleasdale issued its first single-vineyard wines from the 2010 vintage. This raised the price of Bleasdale’s top-tier wine from AU$30 to AU$90 (£14 to £44).

‘We saw value as being the key to selling our wines, but compared to the wider commercial market, we greatly under-valued our wines for far too long,’ says Robbie Potts, co-proprietor and brand ambassador, who started working in the Bleasdale vineyards in 1980.

‘I think that robbed us of the respect we deserved,’ he adds.

Robbie is the fifth-generation Potts family member at the helm of Bleasdale, which has won 50 Australian wine show trophies in the past decade.

Stepping up

Other longstanding grape-growing families also began to see opportunities. The Adams family, owners of the famous Metala vineyard, planted in 1891, formed the Brothers in Arms label to sell their own wines.

They have also revived the Metala wine brand, which was owned for many decades by Treasury Wine Estates but bought back by the Adams family in 2022.

The Case family followed a similar line, establishing Kimbolton Wines in 1998 and building a solid reputation on outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz.

They also experimented, taking the plunge to graft Montepulciano onto some Shiraz vines.

Not only has the variety provided some exciting new wines, but it also hints at the role alternative grape varieties could play in shaping Langhorne Creek’s viticultural future.

In the vineyards

Changes to viticulture in the region elevated success in many Langhorne Creek wines, as noted by former winemaker Paul Hotker.

He led the Bleasdale winemaking team for 17 years until 2024 and won Bleasdale its own Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy for the 2018 Wild Fig Shiraz-Grenache-Mataro blend.

‘When I first came to work in Langhorne Creek, having moved from Western Australia, I held a very positive perception about the vineyards’ potential to make amazing wines.

But there were several obstacles – over-cropping, traces of salinity in the water,’ says Hotker.

‘One by one, these problems have been overcome, and there is a shared understanding among all the winemakers in Langhorne Creek to strive for quality by chasing specific criteria. It has meant stronger communication between growers and winemakers, and clearer understanding of this region’s great assets,’ he adds.

‘This region’s investment in research and development is huge – on sourcing the best clones and varieties, pest management, GPS mapping and water usage – because our focus is on continued excellence and improvement.’

Malbec takes centre stage

Bleasdale’s new crop of celebration wines, constructed to mark the winery’s 175th anniversary, are fitting examples of this progression.

The new super-premium Mainsail Malbec 2022 – named to honour the seafaring and boat-building heritage of founder Frank Potts – recognises the Potts family’s long-held belief that their ancient-vine Malbec can be celebrated as a single-variety wine of the highest order.

Originally planted for use as a blending agent in fortified wines, Malbec was the first table wine that Bleasdale produced in 1961.

It has since become the distinctive standout variety of the winery and the Langhorne Creek region.

For Nicole Brasier, appointed as senior winemaker at Bleasdale in December 2024, working with Malbec is one of the main reasons she applied to join the winery.

‘We have our own Potts clone of Malbec – that’s how unique it is,’ says Brasier.

‘Yes, our Malbec has great strength of flavour, but we pick the fruit so that it always captures freshness and vibrancy. The Bleasdale style is always made with restraint so that the fruit carries all the power – not the oak or the tannins, but instead that delicious even flow of supple flavours.’

Cabernet character

Other celebration wines released in Bleasdale’s 175th year include a nine-year-old fortified Verdelho and three different commemorative magnums of 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon.

Each represents different fruit parcels and oak maturation treatment: The Celebration Magnum (AU$75/£36), the Anniversary Magnum (AU$125/£60) and the Limited Release Magnum (AU$175/£85).

‘Cabernet is definitely the unsung hero of this region,’ says Brasier.

‘It’s never mentioned in the first breath of great Australian Cabernet regions, but Langhorne Creek has something very distinctive of its own. It has unique drive, supported by elongated tannins with a chalky edge, and such a plush character. It’s so easy to fall in love with these wines.’

On show

The rising tide of respect for Langhorne Creek wines can be matched to the transformation of the area’s regional wine show, which was recognised as a formal part of Australia’s wine show circuit in 2014.

That strengthened the credibility of 23 local producers and highlighted the region’s diversity – especially its alternative Mediterranean grape varieties.

The show even shone a light on the region’s far-reaching external influence by including a class for multi-region blends featuring mostly Langhorne Creek fruit.

Greg Follett of Lake Breeze Wines has won the most trophies at the Langhorne Creek Wine Show, particularly for his Cabernet and blends.

‘If our success is consistent, it sure says a lot about what our vineyards produce,’ says Follett. ‘It’s no wonder that Langhorne Creek locals have strong belief in the merits of this region.’

The ripples from such achievements resonate strongly with leading winemakers in other regions, especially McLaren Vale’s Drew Noon MW.

He waxes lyrical about the expressive, intensely flavoured Langhorne Creek fruit that he buys for his flagship Reserve Cabernet and Reserve Shiraz.

‘It’s simple,’ explains Noon. ‘I don’t need to buy this fruit. I buy it because it’s outstanding.’

Langhorne Creek: 10 top wines to try

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