The Story of
Our Vineyards
FRANK NEVER KNEW THE MEANING OF TERROIR
All Frank Potts knew was that this region around Langhorne Creek, on the floodplains of the Bremer River, would produce exceptional wines with their own unique characteristics.
And he was right…
OUR REGION - LANGHORNE CREEK
Bleasdale was the founding winery and vineyard in the Langhorne Creek wine region, one of 18 wine regions in South Australia, and one of 65 wine regions in all of Australia. Langhorne Creek’s annual crush accounts for less than 5% of the entire crush in Australia. The region under vine itself is half the size of the Barossa, Australia, a 5th the size of Marlborough, New Zealand, and a 20th the size of Bordeaux, France.
Conditions for grape growing in Langhorne Creek are ideal thanks to the natural fertility of the floodplain soils, the ability of these soils to retain moisture from natural winter floods, and the moderation of the local climate by cooling evening breezes from nearby Lake Alexandrina and the Southern Ocean in summer. The red varieties thrive in this rich environment, which explains why over 75 per cent of all wine grapes grown are red wine grapes.
The harnessing of the natural floodwater of the Bremer River by early grape growers makes the Langhorne Creek region quite unique. Having purchased 120 acres of land in 1850, Frank Potts developed a system of levees and floodgates to capture and divert a metre of water and nutrient rich silt across the entire vineyard. The vigour in growth caused by this natural abundance of water sometimes presented challenges, but it is now managed by modern viticultural practices.
OUR VINEYARDS
The Bleasdale estate consists of 45 blocks totalling 54 hectares in size. The oldest vines are Verdelho, planted in 1930, with other vineyards planted in the 1950s.
The most recent plantings are from 2022.
Langhorne Creek benefits from a unique maritime microclimate from Lake Alexandrina, providing cooling afternoon breezes for the vines that gives great mid-palate complexity to our wines.
Varieties grown on the Bleasdale estate include: Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Malbec, Grenache, Petit Verdot, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Carmenere, Mataro, Chardonnay and Verdelho. Bleasdale’s estate vineyards are managed with an agile viticultural strategy to thrive in drought or flood.
THE FLOODPLAINS
Langhorne Creek experiences relatively low annual rainfall, so supplementary drip irrigation is used to provide the vines with every opportunity to produce optimal fruit. The soils for Bleasdale’s vineyards range from well drained, deep silty loams to clay loam over loam.
As Bleasdale grew it established contract grape growing arrangements with an increasing number of growers. Some of these relationships are entering their third generation of arrangements. These days, we are often trialling new varieties and varietal clones to ensure that we are at the forefront of innovation and quality.
In 2011, Bleasdale began sourcing Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Sauvignon Blanc from the cooler Adelaide Hills region, and has quickly built a reputation for quality and value white wines.
Bleasdale’s Langhorne Creek red wines have fine tannin and fruit structure, and are highly regarded for their complexity and longevity; whilst the white wines of the Adelaide Hills display elegant fruit, balance and length of flavour.
