Heslop
Heslop wines is a very small family-owned winery on the outskirts of Mudgee in New South Wales, about 3 hours west of Sydney its a lovely country town surrounded by some very, very good Wineries. I started buying Zinfandel in 2014 from Liam Heslop under his own brand, Mr Rascal. This brand has now been merged with the family brands as Liam has joined the family business as the #winemaker.
Heslop Wines
In 2020 we got our first opportunity to visit the #vineyard and taste across the range to experience the entire offering.
Liam's mum Julia does the tasting at the cellar door and like many other small family wineries, the cellar is actually the front room of the family’s century old home. At the start of spring 2020, at the tail end of the first time Sydney was released from lockdown during covid, she was developing the look of a person who has been working too hard for too long.
The 5 million people in Sydney had crossed the sandstone walls and flooded out into the surrounding countryside. Travelling to see New South Wales instead of hopping on a plane to somewhere warm. Everyone we saw in Canberra, Orange, Mudgee and the Hunter Valley during this trip, had been on the go for about 4 months solid and they were all looking exhausted.
When we got to Heslop, the whites are completely sold out except for the very last few half dozens of Chardonnay. The Zinfandel is also sold out so we taste our way through the rich, deep layers of the hand-crafted reds. The Touriga Nacional and the Merlot are special, they have many years in them yet.
This is a tiny family business, the cellar is their home, bottling is by hand, labels are hand placed, everything about this wine is handled by a member of the family. Get out and buy local and support them.
Heslop Family wines is very definitely worth a visit when you are Mudgee, about 7-8 minutes out of Mudgee by car. Say hi to Julia when you swing by, try the Zin, the Chardonnay and the Touriga.
The wine makers wonderland
The entrance to the Heslop Family Cellar door
