The Cellars @ Heathcote II

Heathcote II is the product of two individuals, Peder Rosdal and Lionel Flutto and is all about producing premium red wines of the highest quality.

Heathcote II is hands on grapegrowing and winemaking. With only seasonal staff at harvest, Peder and Lionel run the whole process from hand- pruning the vines to pressing the wine.

The wines are made purely from grapes grown by us on our property in Toolleen, 30 kms North of Heathcote. The yield is naturally very low, rarely exceeding 1.5 tons to the acre, which gives about 22 ñ 25 hl/hectare. The altitude of the property lies from 220 to 250 meters above sea level and it spans over 80 acres of undulating red Cambrian soil. However only 13 acres are planted into vines. Most of that being Shiraz, with smaller plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Tempranillo and Grenache. The oldest vines have an average age of 20 years.
At Heathcote II we do not pick the grapes until they are completely ripe meaning when the flavours and colours are fully developed and not only based on sugar level. We also wait for the seeds in the grapes to turn brown giving us softer tannins in the finished wine. The harvest is usually spread over 3 weeks with only a few rows picked at one time; again ensuring each row is at its optimal ripeness.

Peder is the French trained winemaker and responsible for making the wine. He uses traditional yet modern winemaking techniques taken from his experiences in Europe and the US. The fermentation goes on for 10 to 14 days in small open vats. In order to maximize deep colour and flavour extraction, the fermenting juice is hand-plunged twice a day. This very effective technique was initially developed in Burgundy many years ago and is still considered the most gentle way to extract the essence of the grapes. All the wines are dry and they are aged in the finest French oak