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I need a good excuse to visit the London International Wine Fair, held each May in London. It is large, crowded and claustrophobic. I loathe it. But the Landmark Australia tasting of 14 Coonawarra wines back to 1982 was more than enough to get me out of bed.
Hosted by Andrew Caillard MW with Sue Hodder of Wynns Coonawarra Estate, Wayne Stehbens of Katnook Estate and Bernard Hickin of Jacob’s Creek, this tasting gave a fascinating overview of Coonawarra winemaking styles over the last three decades.
Hitherto I had never tasted anything older than a 1998 from Coonawarra – that was a bottle of The Tally, its first vintage, that I had with Doug Balnaves and Pete Bissel on what was my first and so far only visit to Coonawarra in December 2003.
Although one always thinks of Coonawarra wines as being the product of Cabernet Sauvignon, terra rossa soil and a cool climate, there are variables to consider in this isolated wine region. Cabernet is the dominant and by general consent best variety here – but it is not the only one. Many excellent wines are blends. Some producers use French oak; others prefer the softer tannins of American wood.
Most of the wines tasted here had a strong winemaking influence, whether it was oak, ripeness or extraction. But the terroir is also changeable. There are vineyards on black or brown rendzina soil that lie well away from the supposedly superior sites on the terra rossa “strip”. The western boundary of the Coonawarra GI bulges against the state border like Merv Hughes’s belly.
The 2006, 2005 and 2004 wines were all very young and needed much longer to show their best, maybe another ten years. Impressively, nothing was over the hill – many of these wines will keep going like the Riddoch Highway.
2006 Hollick Ravenswood Cabernet Sauvignon
Fermented in new 100% new French oak, then aged in the same barrels for 18 months. Deeply coloured garnet, even more so than some of the older wines here. This is modern Coonawarra in excelsis, with ripe cassis fruit rather than cool leafiness. Although the tannins are a bit wood-dry, it retains good acidity for its extracted style. Well worth trying from 2013-20.
2005 Parker Coonawarra Estate Terra Rossa First Growth
Part of the Rathbone family’s impeccable collection of estates and made by Coonawarra’s winemaking maestro Pete Bissel, this blend of 91% Cabernet with 9% Merlot weighs in at 14.7%. Like the first wine it was aged in French oak for 18 months – but some American oak was used for the Merlot. In almost every way this is brighter than the Hollick: it has more purple colour, fresher cassis fruit, brisker acidity and fleshy rather than hard tannins. 2013-20?
2004 Balnaves The Tally
Here’s Pete Bissel again but this is a very different style to the Parker, with much less of the cassis exuberance. Instead there is dark fruit and, with aeration, toffee. This is as supple as the neck of a swan, though the tannins are distinctly wood-influenced. It should age well to at least 2020 – the fine fruit will soak up those tannins like the sawdust that soaks up spilled drinks in T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”.
2004 Jacob’s Creek St Hugo
Ah, finally the Coonawarra leafiness! Winner of 27 gongs worldwide, this is a great example of my Platonic ideal of Coonawarra. Perhaps the difference is the oak regime – 18 months in new and one-year-old French oak hogsheads has not permeated the wine excessively. It is not as concentrated as the three previous wines but it is nicely textured. Good for another five years at least.
2004 Katnook Odyssey Cabernet Sauvignon
Back to the garnet shading. The nose has a hint of tobacco but for me there is still quite a lot of oak lingering – not surprising for a wine that had three years in a mix of French and American barriques. The palate also tastes of oak but is surprisingly supple and showing signs of maturity. Now to 2015?
2004 Majella Malleea
Now here’s a conundrum – Coonawarra Cabernet with a large dollop (45%) of Shiraz. Surely this cannot have any Coonawarra typicity. But it has some mint on the nose and is very much in, if not of, Coonawarra. The acidity supports the sweet fruit and makes this a thoroughly likeable wine – almost as charming as an Englishman. Now to 2020?
2004 Petaluma Coonawarra
This has more Merlot than the Parker and, like Mark Waugh, achieves elegance rather than power. The garnet shading, chocolaty flavours and smooth tannins suggest a wine that is nearly at its peak. Now to 2017?
2004 Wynns Coonawarra Estate John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon
No muddying of the waters with this pure Cabernet Sauvignon. It is a very fine and classic example of Coonawarra Cab, with leafy flavours, good concentration, and balanced tannins and acidity. This might go further than any of the other 2004s tasted here.
1996 Jacob’s Creek St Hugo
Another lovely example of this wine, with a fleshy finish and crisp acidity. “Ageing better than 1998”, reckoned Bernard Hickin. Now to 2020?
1991 Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet
This is not quite as convincing and authoritative as the 2004. The nose hints at some oxidation but it retains some acidity for greater freshness on the palate. Now to 2013?
1990 Katnook Odyssey Cabernet Sauvignon
Doubtless there was less oak on this than the 2004, so it is hard to tell if that wine will age as well as this one, which has lovely tannins and a sweet mid-palate. Now to 2015?
1990 Orlando St Hugo
Brown, like coca cola – or Pepsi. Age has turned this into cedary complexity, with less of the leafiness seen in the 1996 and 2004. The smooth palate is still juicy. It lingers but does so quietly, like a well-behaved nephew. Now to 2013?
1990 Penfolds Bin 920 Cabernet Shiraz
Some leafiness and mint on the nose, though also a bit oak-dusty. Still sweet and juicy, finishing with fleshy tannins. Still going strong, like Ricky Ponting. Now to 2020?
1982 Wynns John Riddoch
The first vintage of this wine. Brown, though not as much as the Orlando. Cigar on the nose. Juicy acidity but not quite as fleshy as the Penfolds, with a sweet finish. “Big tannins and edgy acidity” when it was young, said Sue Hodder. Good for 35 years – now to 2015?
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