Cheap land prices and water availability have seen large Australian winemakers industry focus on Langhorne Creek, more than quadrupling its plantings within ten years. Langhorne Creek, located close to Lake Alexandrina and the mouth of the River Murray, has never been considered a fashionable district, despite the fact that it has contributed the backbone of Wolf Blass’ very successful record with red wine and has long been used as a source of material by some of the country’s larger makers. In the late 1980s only 1,200 acres of vines were planted at Langhorne Creek, while plantings today amount to 4,500 acres. This time next year another 1,000 acres of vines will be in the ground. By the time the new plantings are finished, Orlando will have around 1,000 acres, Rosemount Estate 1,000 acres, while Mildara Blass and BRL Hardy will each have around 500 acres. One of the more picturesque features of traditional Langhorne Creek viticulture has been the annual flooding of the Bremer River, which several of the vineyards located on the floodplain, such as Bleasdale, have used a la River Nile to provide the lion’s share of their irrigation requirements. Although much of the new Langhorne Creek plantings are not able to use its unique form of watering, most still have access to top-quality water from Lake Alexandrina. The Potts family’ Bleasdale vineyard has remained at 130 acres, but the winery is sourcing more fruit than ever from local growers. A change in management structure in 1990 has unlocked sufficient capital to increase the winery’s capacity from 1,000 tonnes to 2,500 within four years. Further improvements have been made to the cellar door and wine storage facilities. Bleasdale’s new label design reflects a more self-confident approach to the marketplace. Bleasdale exports to around half a dozen countries, but its principal focus for the medium term is to consolidate its domestic presence. It has left the sub-ten dollar bracket well behind and its second release of the premium Frank Potts Reserve red blend at around $18 retail illustrates a genuine drive to move up-market, but an awareness to retain the genuine value and cellaring potential traditionally associated with the brand. ‘We got our act together just in time, since everyone is improving’, says Michael Potts, who justifiably asserts that the family’s wines have improved greatly from around 1990, thanks as much to the ability to produce better fruit as the winery’s larger budget for quality oak. Bleasdale struck difficult vintages in 1993 when floods and disease restricted yields by 45% and in 1995 by 25% when ‘kicked in the guts’ by a drought year. Who said growing grapes was easy? Fortunately, 1996 appears to be an excellent year with good volumes and quality for everything except cabernet sauvignon – usually the heaviest-cropper – which suffered with sunburn. Shiraz is ‘big in volume and terrific in quality’. The only concern some local Langhorne Creek growers is that the proliferation of large-scale big company vineyards will turn the area into a Riverland-like producer of cheaper wine. No fear, I don’t think. Look instead for Langhorne Creek to have quite a more fashionable ring.
