The Wynns Cabernet Sauvignon wines of Coonawarra have an iconic status in Australia and are seen as one of the eternal
Australian benchmarks in the style of Bordeaux. Wynns was the first winery in Coonawarra,
established by John Riddoch in 1896. The
winery is located on and draws fruit from the world famous ‘Terra Rossa’ soils,
where Cabernet Sauvignon performs superbly, producing wines that resemble those
of the Medoc, more so than any other region in Australia. The Wynns wines are the leaders in the
region, with a magnificent track record of having a wonderfully elegant style
with an ability to cellar over the medium to long term. Sue Hodder is the incumbent winemaker at
Wynns, and custodian of some of the finest fruit in the region. We offer the classic ‘Black Label’ 2006 and super-premium
‘John Riddoch’ 2005 wines here:
Wynns ‘Black Label’ Coonawarra
Cabernet Sauvignon 2006
Arguably the most important Cabernet Sauvignon label in Australia, the
Wynns ‘Black Label’ was first produced in 1954.
Though made from the top 20-25% of the Cabernet fruit available from the
Wynns Coonawarra Estate vineyard, it is surprisingly a wine of considerable
volumes. However, the quality is beyond
reproach, as it is a model of varietal expression, regional personality. It can be regarded as one of Australia’s
premium examples of Cabernet Sauvignon, and at around $30.00, it is a veritable
bargain. The 2006 is a youthful black
hued ruby red in colour with a taut bouquet of classical blackcurranty Cabernet
Sauvignon along with nuances of mint. Very
finely textured on the palate, the tannins form the structure of this wine and
the fruit is pure Cabernet Sauvignon in flavour. This is a wine of elegance that speaks of
traditional claret. 14.0% alc, aged 16
months in 35% new French oak. This should
be cellared for another 3-5 years, from when it will provide classy drinking
over another 10 years.
Wynns ‘John Riddoch’ Coonawarra
Cabernet Sauvignon 2005
The super-premium ‘John Riddoch’ Cabernet Sauvignon is the flagship wine for
Wynns and honours John Riddoch, the pastoralist and parliamentarian who was the
largest land-owner in South Australia’s
south-east corner. Like the man was, the
wine is larger than life, being the definitive Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon,
richer, more concentrated and more complex than any other wine in the
region. It is made only in years when
the grapes are of extraordinary quality, and from usually less than 1% of the
best fruit from the Wynns Estate vines.
The 2005 is 14.0% alc. and was aged 21 months in 80% new oak of which
65% was French. Altogether a different
beast to the ‘Black Label’ wine, with an impenetrable black-red colour, this
has fully-ripened Cabernet Sauvignon fruit in the blackberry aromatic spectrum
with nuances of liquorice and cedar from the new oak. A wine of great richness, succulence and
power, with serious extraction and grip matching the fruit sweetness level, the
sheer density along with palate proportion will see this develop over the next
decade and a half. One of Australia’s
great Cabernet Sauvignons, speaking of Coonawarra at its finest.