Winery of the Year

2024 Winery of the Year

Bleasdale Vineyards – Langhorne Creek, South Australia

There’s an argument to say that the Bleasdale winery, both historically and most certainly at the hand of winemaker Paul Hotker, should be regarded as every Australian wine lover’s best friend. It’s probably best known as a value producer, thanks to the fact – as James Halliday so aptly puts it – that there’s ‘value across the board’, but it’s become abundantly apparent in recent years that Bleasdale is a whole lot more than that. This is best illustrated by the fact that we’ve thrown the full might of Australian cabernet sauvignon against Bleasdale’s Iron Duke in the past two years, and assessed them all blind, and in consecutive years, for consecutive vintages, it has come out on top. When we say ‘the full might’, we mean Margaret River royalty, and Coonawarra royalty, and Yarra Valley royalty. And it still won.

Senior winemaker Paul Hotker and operations winemaker Matt Laube.

As Bleasdale itself proclaims, whether one of its wines is $12 or $70, it is determined that every wine in its range 'conveys a story in the glass that substantiates its history, diversity and increasingly, its pedigree'. 

There was no doubt a great foundation and culture to build on, in vineyards and growers, people and history, but the work of Bleasdale’s head winemaker Paul Hotker cannot be underestimated. He and his team are relentless in their determination to work magic, and we will never tire of celebrating it. 

To wit: Bleasdale is our Winery of the Year because at our annual (blind) judging it won two major awards: Best Cabernet Sauvignon (Iron Duke Cabernet 2021) and Best Cabernet Shiraz (Wellington Road Cabernet Shiraz 2021). Quite remarkably, it has 22 wines ranked at 90 or higher in this guide, including no less than 16 at 95 points or higher. Three of these wines went right to the top, scoring 97 or higher. To qualify as a 5-star winery in the Halliday Wine Companion a winery needs a minimum of two 95+ wines. Bleasdale qualified as a 5-star winery eight times over. Most commonly, it did so with wines that most would consider as well-priced. Yet more: it achieved all this across a range of different styles, from full-bodied reds to cool-climate-ish chardonnay, from sparkling shiraz to riesling, from tempranillo through to spicy syrah, tempranillo and grenache blends. It kicked goals, too at sparkling blanc de blancs and pinot gris.

Bleasdale, this year’s winner of our Winery of the Year, has won this award in the most emphatic fashion. – Campbell Mattinson

Bleasdale has taken out the 2024 Winery of the Year, Cabernet Sauvignon of the Year, and Cabernet Shiraz Blends of the Year.

"Visitors to Bleasdale can expect a decent glass of wine. There's a wine to suit everyone here: red, white, fortified, sparkling – you name it. We aim to please everyone. And you have to innovate to survive," says senior winemaker Paul Hotker.

"What's great about Langhorne Creek is it's situated on the shores of Lake Alexandrina, which is three times the size of Sydney Harbour. It's a very cool, maritime climate but it's also in a rain shadow behind the Adelaide Hills. The cool, dry, maritime trends led to really spicy and aromatic wines."

"The secret to consistency is paying attention. So we're constantly monitoring and adjusting maturation to achieve the best result all the way through the process, from grapes to bottling," says Paul.

Operations winemaker Matt Laube says to be named the 2024 Winery of the Year (along with winning Cabernet Sauvignon of the Year and Cabernet Shiraz of the Year) is an amazing feat, and somewhat overwhelming, but is a testament to all the work that's been put in over the years. "It really it is a team effort and everyone does their bit – so I think the team will be will be pretty stoked."

2024 Winery of the Year

Previous Winery of the Year recipients were Paringa Estate (2007), Balnaves of Coonawarra (2008), Brookland Valley (2009), Tyrrell’s (2010), Larry Cherubino Wines (2011), Port Phillip Estate/Kooyong (2012), Kilikanoon Wines (2013), Penfolds (2014), Hentley Farm Wines (2015), Tahbilk (2016), Mount Pleasant (2017), Mount Mary (2018), Seville Estate (2019), Jim Barry Wines (2020), Henschke (2021), Yarra Yering (2022) and Pooley Wines (2023).

The 2024 Halliday Wine Companion is available now. Secure your copy of Australia's most comprehensive wine guide here – and at all good bookstores.

This is an edited extract from the 2024 Halliday Wine Companion, with reviews by James Halliday, Campbell Mattinson, Dave Brookes, Jane Faulkner, Jeni Port, Mike Bennie, Ned Goodwin MW, Philip Rich and Shanteh Wale. Cover art by Ka Mo.