The cold nights finally got to Bill and he decided it was time to pass the dream on. In 2001, Domaines Tatiarra purchased the property and continues to develop the original dream. Bill Hepburn oversaw the growing of the grapes used in the first vintage of Tatiarra Cambrian Shiraz and remains involved with the development of the company as a very interested outsider. The Caravan of Dreams Shiraz Pressings is made in Bill Hepburn's honour.

Today Tatiarra vineyard continues to attract visionaries. Tatiarra winemaker, Ben Riggs has his own dream about Heathcote and Shiraz. Ben is based in McLaren Vale, South Australia where his obsession for producing extraordinary Shiraz is well known. With Tatiarra, he was challenged to produce a wine that would rank amongst the giants of the Shiraz world – Tatiarra Trademark Shiraz – a unique blend of McLaren Vale and Heathcote fruit.

As Bill Hepburn’s dream continues to inspire wine enthusiasts, it is comforting to know that the integrity of his original vision is being well preserved. Contracts have been let to expand the original Tatiarra vineyard with a further 12.75 acres in 2003. The new planting will be complete by November of that year. The same clone of Shiraz has been selected for the new block, as its performance to date has been outstanding, but one proviso stands – the clone does not respond well to heavy cropping. Therefore, yields will be maintained below the average of 2.65 tonnes per acre.

The yields at Tatiarra are kept well below the ‘magic’ three tonnes per acre limit that seems vital if super premium grapes are to be grown. The Tatiarra business model has an average yield forecast of 2.65 tonnes per acre, however, to date this figure has not been reached. A combination of the dry growing conditions and cane pruning has resulted in the 2002 vintage being cropped at 1.6 tonnes per acre, whilst the 2003 vintage was cropped at 2.3 tonnes per acre. This has resulted in two exceptionally concentrated vintages.

The flavour compounds are actually formed whilst the grapes are green, and the berries quite hard. It is therefore of paramount importance to expose the bunches to sunlight, whilst at the same time not permitting the grapes to become sun burnt. The technique most widely used to achieve this outcome is a form of trellising called V.S.P. (Vertical Shoot Positioning). At the Tatiarra Heathcote Vineyard, three movable growing wires are used and as the leaf canopy grows, the new shoots are tucked away under the wire to create a vertical hedge like effect.

At Tatiarra, the winemaking team work closely with the viticulturalist to achieve low, fully balanced yields. The grapes are hand harvested, placed into small buckets and then transported to Geelong where the Tatiarra wines are made. The truck arrives at Pettavel winery at around 6:00pm the same afternoon and the grapes are immediately crushed. Neutral yeast strains are used as opposed to wild yeasts. The rationale for this decision is that Ben wishes to avoid some of the ‘funky’ matchstick aromas that can result from using wild yeasts. A variety of new French oak barrels are used from a number of different coopers with casks being made by toasting and steam bending - again adding a layer of complexity. These barrels include Saury (steam bent), Transaud, Francois Freres and AP Johns American Oak barrels. Each barrel is kept separately and its development carefully monitored.