She-Oak Hill Vineyard produces wine grown exclusively from Shiraz and Chardonnay grapes on a single five hectare vineyard situated on She Oak Hill at Heathcote.
The fruit is produced under natural and non-irrigated conditions to allow the best features of these classic grape varieties to develop their full potential and to display true regional and varietal characteristics. The Heathcote wine region in Central Victoria is rapidly winning acclaim as one of the finest Shiraz producing regions in Australia amongst wine writers and buyers. A unique feature of the region is the deep red soils which have developed on ancient Cambrian rocks. The gently undulating topography and the reliably warm growing season climate, enables Shiraz grapes to ripen fully and to express their true varietal character. Max Allen described the Heathcote soil in The Wine Magazine in April/May 1999 as ‘some of the most exciting grape-growing dirt in Australia’. Gordon Leckie Senior and his wife Lorna planted the five acre "Old Block" consisting entirely of Shiraz, with the help of friends and family in the spring of 1975. Along with Mt Ida, Huntleigh and Jasper Hill, She Oak Hill was one of the pioneering vineyards in the region. She Oak Hill Shiraz from this original vineyard was made during the eighties by local winemaker Leigh Hunt. Gordon's children Gordon, Judith and Julian, encouraged by Lorna, established the "New Block", also of five acres, in 1996. Enthusiastic family members and many friends assisted them in this planting. The vines are planted along side of the Old Block on the eastern slopes of She-Oak Hill following the original plans laid out for Gordon Senior by the Soil Conservation Authority in 1975 and designed to minimize the effect of erosion by planting across the contours. The main planting was Shiraz, with a small amount of Chardonnay, as an outstanding chardonnay had been produced in the Heathcote region in the past. The establishment of this vineyard was challenged by several years of very low rainfall and the rootlings were sustained by hand watering through the drought of their first summer. This was a time intensive and arduous task maintained through the family's enthusiasm and determination to see the vines survive. These vines have gone on to establish deep roots in the mineral rich Cambrian soil, and have flourished since 1998 without supplementary water. She Oak Hill wine from the New Block has been available since the 2001 vintage under the current label.