The first two or so decades after David “Duck” Anderson and his wife Diana planted vines in Heathcote was a time of relative obscurity for Wild Duck Creek Estate. But everything changed after the influential American wine critic Robert Parker gave the 1997 vintage of its now-iconic shiraz cabernet blend, Duck Muck, a staggering 99 points.
The score – which at the time was virtually unheard of for an Australian wine – saw prices for the ’97 Duck Muck skyrocket to around $1000–1500 USD and propelled the winery to international fame; something which was particularly fortuitous considering the wine was first made by accident.
Luck, chance, coincidence, fate… it’s a bit of a theme at Wild Duck Creek Estate. David’s nickname was born from a childhood proclivity for Daffy Duck impressions, but the winery gets its name from the creek that runs through the property. And Duck and Diana’s parents didn’t know each other when they bought the blocks of land in Heathcote, two kilometres apart, on which the winery and vineyards now sit.
The first Wild Duck wines, made in the mid 1980s from the original plantings, were from shiraz and cabernet, both varietal and blends. In the mid ’90s, Duck planted another vineyard, mostly to malbec.
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