Langhorne Creek
A quarter of everything inside the boundary is vineyard, which makes this the most densely planted region in Australia. Almost flat, nowhere higher than 64 metres, traditionally flood-irrigated from the Bremer and cooled by the lake behind it.
Known for
- Cabernet Sauvignon
- Shiraz
- Malbec
Why Langhorne Creek tastes the way it does
Flat, low and cooled by the lake behind it, on deep alluvial soils vines root into easily. The land was traditionally flood-irrigated by diverting the Bremer across it in winter. The result is generous, soft Cabernet and Shiraz, much of it feeding big national brands.
January averages 21.9°C here and the growing season adds up to 1,957 heat units, which is warm, and it shows in riper, fuller wine.
A short history
Settlers planted in the 1850s and developed the flood-irrigation system the district used for over a century. It stayed small and obscure until the 1990s, when large companies worked out how reliable its fruit was and plantings multiplied.
Langhorne Creek was registered as a protected wine name in 1998, which makes the boundary a legal definition rather than a marketing one.
What your house does to a bottle from Langhorne Creek
A bottle from Langhorne Creek ages at the rate its temperature sets, not at the rate the vintage chart says. Barello's model is the physical one: every 10°C above 13°C roughly doubles the rate, and at 25°C or more you are not ageing it, you are cooking it. Pick where you live and where the bottle actually sits.
Choose a city and a spot, and this line will tell you how much faster the bottle is ageing than it would in a cellar.
This is the same model that dates every bottle in Barello. Open the app to run it against your own wine. Or read how to store wine without a cellar, or the wine temperature chart.
Langhorne Creek in numbers
| Planted vineyard | 6,093 ha | number 6 of 64 in Australia |
|---|---|---|
| Region area | 241 km² | 25.28% of it under vine |
| Grapes crushed | 36,413 t a year | 6.0 tonnes a hectare |
| January average | 21.9°C | number 34 coolest of 64 |
| Heat units | 1,957 | warmth added up over the growing season |
| Land in the GI rises | 0 to 64 m | the boundary, not where the vines are |
| Registered | 1998 | as a protected name |
Nearby
- Currency Creek24 km south west, known for Shiraz instead
- Adelaide Hills44 km north west, known for Sauvignon Blanc instead
- McLaren Vale47 km west, known for Shiraz instead
Distances are between the registered centres of each region, so they are as the crow flies rather than as the road goes.
Where these numbers come from
Boundaries and figures: Wine Australia Geographical Indications register, used under CC BY 4.0. Climate figures are the register's own long-run averages, measured in the vineyard. The history and the tasting notes above are Barello's own.