In 1995 the decision was made to produce a super premium red wine at the very top end of the scale that would take Vasse Felix to a dimension of quality not seen before. With utmost barrel selection, fruit selection and varietal blending freedom, the Heytesbury was born.
The first Heytesbury in the inaugural 1995 vintage went on to claim the Wine Society Trophy for Best Dry Red in open classes at the 1997 Melbourne Wine Show and was runner up to the Jimmy Watson Trophy at the 1996 Melbourne Wine Show. This premium blend has also claimed four gold medals.
The 1996 Heytesbury won the best wine of the show at the 1997 WA SGIO Wine Awards. The judge’s comments were "The Vasse Felix Heytesbury was the epitome of the new direction of red winemaking. It had none of the excesses in oak, tannin extraction and alcohol that characterise a big number of Australian red wines. It was complete and refined."