With James Halliday’s Wine Companion Awards Winemaker of the year 2018 Paul Hotker at the helm, Langhorne Creek and Adelaide winery Bleasdale has never been more prestigious or innovative. Labelled ‘the ultimate viniculturalist’ Hotker is the man to propel the Bleasdale wine dynasty ever forward, combining over 165 years of history in its name with 50 hectares of vine under production and grapes sourced from a number of other growers.
Bleasdale founder Frank Potts arrived from England to South Australia in 1836 and founded the winery in 1850. Six generations later his descendants make up the second oldest wine family in Australia after Yalumba. The Bleasdale name comes from a local Reverend, Ignatius Bleasdale, who advocated a “sober, wine-drinking community that excludes ardent spirits.” An anti-temperance priest suited Frank’s ironic sense of humour, so he immortalised him in his winery. Top wine critic Robert Parker is a Bleasdale fan, noting that it “produces some of the most reliable, fairly-priced wines around.”
Theirs is a diverse portfolio of wines ranging from cool climate whites to revered sparkling Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec. For each vintage Bleasdale thrusts 200 different parcels of wine into the spotlight with an emphasis on regional expression and minimum interference.
