Tellurian
Fine organic wines from the ancient soils of Heathcote
Driven to make benchmark wines
Showcasing the unique site above the vein of red Cambrian soil that has evolved over 550 million years.
It all began in 2002 with an already-established passion for Shiraz and an offer to purchase a newly established vineyard on the side of the Mount Camel range. Founder Ian Hopkins dared to dream, a dream that involved crafting something special from the rich 550 million-year-old soils in the heart of the Heathcote region.
The dream was finally realised in 2008 when the first vintage of Tellurian Shiraz was bottled and 4 years later saw the completion of an Australian shed-style cellar door and winery. Despite Shiraz being the first love, Rhone and Italian varieties have been introduced over the years, each perfectly suited to the area.
Winemaker
Tobias Ansted
A taste for winemaking and a passion for working outdoors led Tobias to become a winemaker. After graduating, he spent time as a “flying” winemaker for Cellarworld International, consulting to wineries across Romania, Argentina and France. It was his time working in the Cote de Beaune region of France that further ignited his love of winemaking and he returned to Australia to concentrate on making wines that focused on the vineyards and let the wines speak for themselves. He plied his craft at Balgownie Estate for 8 years as Chief Winemaker before joining Tellurian in 2008
The ultimate in winemaking & varietal expression
Tellurian Sommet
Heathcote Shiraz
Every winery produces a flagship wine. A wine that captures and represents the ultimate expression of the varietal and their winemaking craft that goes into creating something truly special. Explore this wine here and other curated wines they have chosen for you from their collection which are presented below and throughout this site.
Tellurian Tranter
Heathcote Shiraz
Every winery produces a flagship wine. A wine that captures and represents the ultimate expression of the varietal and their winemaking craft that goes into creating something truly special. Explore this wine here and other curated wines they have chosen for you from their collection which are presented below and throughout this site.
Shop Tellurian Wines
“We are a family-owned, certified organic vineyard, winery, and cellar door, intent on crafting delicious 100% Heathcote wines that reflect our love for these ancient Australian lands.”.
The ancient soils of Heathcote
The Cambrian soils of the Heathcote region were formed over 550 million years ago. They comprise of deep, rich decomposed greenstone rock where soil depths reach 2 metres. At this depth, the roots of the vines are able to bury down into the soil where moisture is plentiful. This helps to naturally protect the vines from drought and temperature extremes. This helps to yield wines that are full of flavour expression.
As natural as it gets - organic certification
In 2018 the winery achieved organic certification. This inspiration to move this way came via a visit to the Rhone region in France in 2014. It was noted that high-density planting in combination with organic farming practices yielded a very special expression of wine. Key organic vineyard practices included the removal of all synthetic fungicides and herbicides, use of under-vine cultivators to remove weeds at the root and then let them decompose to promote healthier soils. The very first vintage that contained organic wines was in 2019.
“Shiraz is our beating heart and we love working with other Rhone varieties in our vineyard including Grenache, Mourvèdre, Carignan, Marsanne, Viognier, Roussane and Grenache Gris with our two favorite Italian varieties of Fiano and Nero d’avola”.
