In 1991, in a breathtaking display of co-operation that would have impressed Karl Marx, fifteen of the Langhorne Creek’s top vignerons offered their very best grapes of the vintage to Michael Potts at Bleasdale winery, in order to make a red blend that would showcase exactly what the region could do.
It wasn’t a charitable affair. Just because a vigneron offered grapes didn’t mean they were selected, as only the best of the best were used in the region’s flagship wine. And it’s been the same ever since. So it is with a real sense of pride that a grower can claim their grapes have been selected to be used in that year’s Area Red Blend, to put the region forward in the very best light.
Reserve your case now – places strictly limited.
Varieties: Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec.
Oak: American and French oak hogsheads, plus a further 18 months in the same oak post blending.
Cellar: 2025
Alcohol: 14.5%
Nose: Lifted aromas of mulberry and ripe dark berry fruit with hints of menthol and tobacco leaf are complemented by the toasty oak that adds further complexity.
Palate: A beautiful, flavoursome amalgam of ripe dark berry fruit and toasty oak leads to a back palate with dusty, almost earthy flavours typical of this fascinating region.
Medal Tally: 229
Receive this magnificent wine at this special Reservation price, with guaranteed delivery every May.
$161.94 (6 pack)
+ delivery fee
Product Code: SR72LH2
One-off purchase price (depending on stock availability after Reservations are fulfilled)
$185.94 (6 pack)
+ delivery fee
Product Code: SR72LH2
From secret weapon to major force
The Langhorne Creek has been on the radar for winemakers in this country ever since the mid-70s, when Wolf Blass won three consecutive Jimmy Watson Trophies using fruit from the Langhorne Creek region to top up his award-winning wines. Blass declared the region his “secret weapon,” but even though the secret was well and truly out within the wine industry, the wine loving public was slow to catch on.
Enter the Langhorne Creek Area Red Blend, a wine made by the vignerons and winemakers of the region to showcase exactly how good a red blend from the Langhorne Creek could be.
The Bleasdale tradition
Every Langhorne Creek Area Red Blend has been made at Bleasdale, the 167-year old Langhorne Creek winery owned and operated by the Potts family.
The Potts have been instrumental in the development of the Area Red Blend, even to this day: Robbie Potts, great, great grandson of Bleasdale founder Frank Potts and an outstanding vigneron in his own right, selects the grapes to be used in the Area Red, crushing them at Bleasdale in the old wooden grape press.
The power and the glory
The Area Red Blend is testimony to the power of a united vision. It is testimony to the power of the adage that one plus one can equal three. It is testimony to the power of the Langhorne Creek as a premium wine region in its own right.
And the Area Red Blend garners the glory that the region – and its growers and winemakers – deserve. It is, quite simply, a supreme example of a red blend from one of the best regions in the country.
It is, as Wolf Blass always knew, a secret waiting to become a major force.
