For the seventh time, a group of Coonawarra winemakers has assembled a series of barrels of Cabernet Sauvignon, this time from the 2002 vintage, for sale at the Vintage Wine Auction, which is itself a part of the Coonawarra Cabernet Celebration. The wines are described in the catalogue as the ‘cr’me de la cr’me’ of the 2002 vintage, which is also described therein as ‘very good, very little and very late’. I tasted samples of the eleven barrels for sale this afternoon, which gave me my first opportunity to form an overview from Coonawarra of the already hyped-up 2002 vintage. My truncated notes appear below: Punter’s Corner: Concentrated and minty, with deep aromas and flavours of dark berries. Not over-extracted; good weight and length of briary fruit. Rating: 18.2. Penley Estate: Lightly minty and herbal cassis and mulberry fruit with assertive, positive oak. Smooth and pliant, with firm drying tannins. Rating: 17.9. Rymill: Lightly herbal and earthy, with pleasing depth of red and black berry fruit, chocolate and coffee oak. Good weight and structure. Needs more vibrant fruit for higher marks. Rating: 17.8. Lindemans: Perfumed and floral, minty and briary, with pleasing balance of fruit and tight-knit oak. Falls slightly flat and could use more stuffing. Rating: 17.3. Yalumba: Leafy, lightly dusty and cedary, with sweet red and black berries framed by powdery, loose-knit tannins. Smooth and polished, but lacks great length and emphasis. Rating: 17.0. Kidman: Minty, menthol aromas of greenish, small berry fruit. Lean and tight-knit palate, quite sinewy, but offering some bright, minty fruit. Rating: 16.2. Jamieson’s Run: Earthy, closed and reductive. Dark and blocky, raw and lacking freshness. Rating: 16.0. Balnaves: Sweet oaky and smoky aromas of slightly confectionary fruit. Plush, forward and smooth, but reveals cooked raisin-like fruit and sour-edged, greenish tannins. Under and over-ripe. Rating: 16.0. Leconfield: Light aromas of small dark berries, plums, vanilla oak, before a rather thin and hollow palate that becomes more dilute. Rating: 15.8. Katnook Estate: Dilute, oaky aromas without intensity. Forward, cooked fruit, supported by coffee/chocolate oak. Lacks life, freshness and structure. Rating: 15.5. Lawrence Victor Estate: Green and shaded, under-ripe. Rating: 13.0. As a group, the wines lack the intensity and vitality expected of their region. The 2002 season appears to have been more difficult in Coonawarra than I had expected. The auction, comprising 20 case lots of each wine, takes place at the Rymill Winery, Riddoch Highway, Coonawarra, at 1.30pm on Sunday October 19. Net proceeds will be donated to the Autism Association of South Australia.
