2008 Heartland Stickleback Red

South Australia

Stickleback Red is a hot new wine from Down Under made by Heartland Wines, a collaboration formed in 2001 to create premium Australian wines from the Limestone Coast and Langhorne Creek. Director/Winemaker is rising star Ben Glaetzer, whom Robert Parker named a Wine Personality of the Year in December 2005. In Parker's words, "When I look at the winemaker behind some of my favorite Australian wines, the name Ben Glaetzer seems to come up frequently. From a winemaking family dating back to the late 19th century, he has shown an exquisite talent for accessing fabulous vineyards and turning out world-class wines from old vine Shiraz and Grenache...This is a serious talent who has exploded on the wine scene with a brilliant array of wines." We call Stickleback a red wine gem!

Heartland Stickleback Red is a rich blend of 61% Shiraz, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Dolcetto and 5% Lagrein. It is a bright ruby red in color with soft tannins and aromas of red currant, black cherry, blackberry, chocolate and spice. It offers flavors of ripe red fruit, blackberries, eucalyptus and spicy oak. The wine was aged for 12 months in 3- and 4-year-old French and American oak barrels. It is long and impressive on the finish.

Enjoy Heartland Stickleback Red over the next 3-4 years with steak, BBQ ribs, lamb chops and pasta with red sauce.