'Black Label' Cabernet Sauvignon, which was first vintaged in 1954, has evolved markedly over the decades. It is arguably Australia's most recognised Cabernet Sauvignon and has more than any other, helped define Coonawarra. The wine is matured in new and seasoned French oak for 12 to 18 months.
A classic Coonawarra Cabernet with pristine dark berry/ cassis aromas, fine-grained tannins and underlying savoury nuances, it develops into a rich, chocolaty wine with age. In a super vintage, this wine can look astonishingly like a 2nd or 3rd growth Bordeaux with its pure cassis aromas and cedary complexity.
Wild berries, black olive and rhubarb notes on the noce intermingle with fragrant nutmeg and cedary oak, underpinned by delicate notes of sage and violet florals. Dark cassis stretches the length of the palate. Fine, powdery tannins and succulent acidity support rich fruit with exceptional poise.
Investment in the vineyards in the winery is paying big dividends, viticulturist Allen Jenkins and winemakers Sue Hodder and Sarah Pidgeon with total control. The colour and sheer power of the varietal expression achieved at this level of alcohol (13.5%) is totally admirable; blackcurrant, blackberry and black olive are welded together with powdery tannins and perfectly judged oak. 96 points, James Halliday, winecompanion.com.au
Black Label's 58th vintage is better than ever. Intense aromas, with delicious balance, long flavour, seamless feel and superfine tannins. 95 points, Ralph Kyte-Powell, Sydney Morning Herald & The Age, Melbourne.
Perfect pitch is described as having the ability to recreate or identify a given musical note without the benefit of a reference tone. Relative pitch is the ability to recreate or identify a musical note by comparing it to a reference note, and identifying the interval between those two notes. I live with a musician who has perfect pitch, but had to train herself into it, something considered unusual in the music world. Most people aren’t familiar on how to use their voice, so they can’t even tell if they have any kind of pitch, but those who work professionally as musicians usually use relative pitch to produce music. Anyway, Wynns Coonawarra Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon, to me, has learned perfect pitch in recent years; it’s found it through the work of Sue Hodder and her team, and through training from vineyard to cellar. It’s not perfect, but it is able to identify Coonawarra without reference. The 2013 hits the high notes... Firm, structured, intense and lengthy. It’s a wine of clear sophistication and restraint, yet shows enough flutter and carry of fruit to seduce. It finds its tones with big swirls of a glass – open weave of dark fruit, the trim and tuck of steely, graphite-tinged tannins. It smells of fine mahogany and dark fruit, earth and spice, olives and anise. The finish pinches, but it’s so very young. Class act; a legato. 94+ points, Mike Bennie, winefront.com.au
Coonawarra
The first vines were planted in Coonawarra by John Riddoch in 1890, however it was not until the renewed interest in table wine production in the 1950's that Coonawarra was brought into the limelight. Located almost 380 km southeast of Adelaide, Coonawarra is today one of the most famous red wine regions in Australia. Its weathered limestone terra rossa soils, avaibility of water and relatively cool maritime climate make it a unique viticultural region. Extremely flat and unprotected, Coonawarra is exposed both to the swinging influences of the cool Great Southern Ocean and hot, dry northerly winds. Spring frosts also pose a major threat with the potential to wipe out entire crops. Mechanical harvesting is widely employed in the region although smaller producers prefer to tend their vines by hand. Coonawarra is best known for classically-styled Cabernet Sauvignon, although in good years, Shiraz from the region is also very compelling.
