Whichever God created Coonawarra, he or she was certainly a billiards player. Locals talk of ‘hills’ and ‘rises’, but unless you’re equipped with surveying equipment or a laser beam, don’t expect to notice them. Wise, of course, not to offer this view to the area’s sensitive occupants, for it does tend to affect their judgement when pouring wines at the cellar door. So when visiting Coonawarra, don’t arrive with the idea that its physical beauty and charm will sweep you away. Unless, of course, you have a military background and still get nostalgic by the parade ground-like impression left by row after endless row of perfectly straight, regular vines, standing either easy or to attention depending on the time of year. Some wineries talk of the scenic views from their cellar doors, a claim to which most visitors typically react with understanding and sympathy. Although it’s not that difficult to determine where its fabled red soils, or terra rossa, begin and end, it’s still not possible to say for certain where the Coonawarra wine region begins and ends. In fact, its precise boundaries are still subject to appeal and look likely to be the cause of dispute for several years at least. Although most of Coonawarra’s recent growth has occurred on other soil types of significantly inferior quality, the well-drained and friable shallow red soils typically produce its best fruit, developing concentration, palate weight and complexity in finished wine that the bordering soil types usually fail to match. If Coonawarra made ordinary wine, nobody would really give a toss about any of the above. But the point is that in most seasons a significant proportion of Australia’s best cabernet sauvignon, merlot and shiraz is grown and made in this region, despite what many outspokenly believe to be the area’s ‘bargain basement’ approach to viticulture, in which people have been largely replaced by machines. Either way, Coonawarra has experienced a remarkable run throughout the 1990s, the only glitches being a partial haemmorhage over a dampish 1995 season and slight hiccups in the cooler vintage of 1992 and in the unusual start-stop season of 1997. Each of 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997 and 1998 has produced exceptional wines and it’s possible to argue that 1990, 1991, 1994 and 1998 were truly great. Well, what’s so special about Coonawarra red? No other Australian region can ripen cabernet sauvignon and merlot to create such a spectrum of bright, vibrant and mouthfilling flavours in wines of such fineness and elegance. While lesser seasons are reflected in a less ripe and lightly herbal/capsicum note, signature Coonawarra cabernet flavours are steeped in blackcurrants, mulberries and red cherries. Which actually means that with well-made Coonawarra red you get all the intensity and ripeness without the thick coating of heavy tannins and grip commonly associated with Australian cabernet. Although makers like Doug Bowen are steadily raising its profile, Coonawarra’s shiraz isn’t presently rated as highly as that of McLaren Vale or the Barossa Valley, but in my view that’s just a temporary thing. There’s no denying that it lacks the sheer power, presence and concentration of the shiraz of these areas, but the market is undeniably smack in the middle of one of those cycles when beauty is considered in direct proportion to bust size, in a strictly oenological sense. Finer, more restrained, but brimful of spicy, earthy, sweet cherry, plum and prune-like flavours, Coonawarra shiraz is fine-grained and usually enjoyable immediately upon release, ‘though don’t be fooled into thinking it doesn’t cellar. A minor variety it may be in a statistical sense, but merlot is set to change the map in Coonawarra. Rosemount Estate paved the way with several outstanding wines in the 1980s, after which Katnook Estate and Petaluma took up the baton. Recent releases from Hunter Valley-based Pepper Tree and Leconfield have added fuel to the idea that Coonawarra might yet prove to be Australia’s leading region for what is in many major world markets the most fashionable of all red wine varieties. No other Australian region has come as close to defining an Australian style for this grape. The listing of Coonawarra wineries at the end of this article does not incorporate many of its best reds, made from Coonawarra fruit by wineries in other regions. Petaluma’s Coonawarra blend of cabernet sauvignon and merlot is a regional benchmark, Rosemount Estate’s Show Cabernet Sauvignon is consistently amongst the region’s finest and best-cellaring reds and Orlando’s due of St Hugo and Jacaranda Ridge Cabernet Sauvignons are typically first-rate. While it surely lacks the rustic charm of regions like the Clare and Hunter Valleys, the spectacular scenery of Margaret River and the Mornington Peninsula, the wine culture of the Barossa Valley or McLaren Vale, Coonawarra is a brilliant wine destination. Not only are most of its wineries lined up wall-to-wall down its major thoroughfare, but it has today a diverse range of accommodation from old cottages to comfortable modern motels, not to mention a small and diverse number of restaurants and dining rooms. Balnaves Although Doug Balnaves has been associated with Coonawarra viticulture for more years than he’d probably care to remember, the Balnaves winery is a relative newcomer to the local scene, opened in time for the 1996 vintage. Naturally it’s a red specialist and with access to some mature vineyards has released some fine Cabernet Sauvignon made by former Wynns Coonawarra Estate assistant winemaker Peter Bissell. Bowen Estate Bowen Estate is a not-so-small operation today with large areas of mature vineyard at its disposal. Its reds are characterised by their richness of fruit and are relatively uncluttered by the new oak influence so popular today. In great years, of which Coonawarra possibly gets more than its share, Doug Bowen’s reds are vibrant and deeply concentrated in their flavour and harmoniously balanced with fine tannins. For some years they did flirt with very high levels of ripeness and alcohol, but the 1998 releases are simply exceptional. Ever since they’ve been sold to the public, Bowen Estate’s reds have been very affordably priced. Brand’s Now fully owned by the McWilliam’s group, Brand’s has been the grateful recipient of substantial investment in its vineyards, both old and new, and in its upgraded winery. Its wines have never looked better and offer tremendous value. Leading the way is a new group of top-drawer reds including the Patron’s Reserve blend of cabernet sauvignon, shiraz and merlot, Eric’s Blend (of cabernet sauvignon, malbec and shiraz) and the Stentiford’s Reserve Old Vines Shiraz, my pick as the winery’s new flagship. Each reflects how successfully the company’s old vine vineyards, which include some of the oldest remaining vines in Coonawarra, have been revitalised and redeployed. Highbank Highbank is a small maker of superbly crafted wine made by Trevor Mast from Mount Langi Ghiran in Victoria, who successfully works the wonderfully concentrated, vibrant and exotically flavoured fruit organically grown by viticulturist Dennis Vice. The Coonawarra blend of red Bordeaux varieties is pure undiscovered treasure. Hollick Hollick is a well established maker of consistent and affordable white and red table wines. While the Ravenswood Cabernet Sauvignon, the company’s premier label is reliably an intense, ripe and concentrated wine with sweet cassis and mulberry fruit and fine-grained new oak influences, other Hollick reds tend to lack a little stuffing and substance. Katnook Estate Katnook Estate is one of Coonawarra’s success stories. Its red wines have steadily evolved in style and quality over the two decades it has been around and today its Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Odyssey Cabernet Sauvignon and Prodigy Shiraz make just about the leading collection of Coonawarra reds you can buy today. Katnook’s great improvements lie in greatly improvement vineyard management, which produces fruit with considerably more depth of ripe flavour, while winemaker Wayne Stehbens has considerably upped the ante with his use and selection of oak. Leconfield Leconfield is a very popular maker of lighter and more fruit-driven, if typically slightly herby Coonawarra red wines. Perhaps best known for its Cabernet Sauvignnon, Leconfield also releases a very spicy and peppery Shiraz, a smooth and sumptuous Merlot and a Verdot, an innovative red wine with a large percentage of the fifth of Bordeaux’ quality red varieties, petit verdot. Lindemans/Rouge Homme The Rouge Homme winery in Coonawarra township is responsible for the three premium Lindemans Coonawarra reds, namely the St George Cabernet Sauvignon, Limestone Ridge Shiraz Cabernet and the Pyrus blend of red Bordeaux varieties. These are typically ripe, almost bordering on jammy and receive a substantial dose of new oak influence. The Rouge Homme reds are earlier to mature and lack the density and structure of their more expensive stablemates, but they do offer pleasingly true varietal qualities harmoniously balanced with oak and fine tannins. Majella In just a few years Majella has made a dramatic impact on the Australian red wine scene with its substantial, deeply flavoured and superbly handled trio of Cooanwarra reds, namely the Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and top-notch The Malleea, itself an opulent shiraz-cabernet sauvignon blend. Owner Brian Lynn has access to the pick of the crop from his own 55 hectares of mature vines. Such is their well-deserved reputation for quality and value that his Majella wines now sell out in weeks. Mildara Mildara Blass has taken a mass-market approach to its Coonawarra assets and instead of doing as most other companies have done, tends to spread its crop across a range of reliable and well-made labels, none of which is really going to fire the imagination. The Jamieson’s Run and Robertson’s Well brands are two of these, but one cannot avoid the thought that some of the company’s older vineyards have more in them. Even the once sought-after white label Mildara Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon is but a shadow of its former self. Parker The Parker vineyard is responsible for for one of the finest of all modern Coonawarra reds which goes to market rather confidently labelled as Terra Rossa First Growth. Given that it’s not released when a vintage doesn’t come up to scratch, and since its first release in 1988 has consistently been amongst the very finest wines of this region, its confidence is hardly misplaced. The style is ripe, rich and assertive, with its deeply concentrated flavours in harmony with new oak and firm tannins. The Cabernet Sauvignon does however appear thin and greenish by comparison. Penley Estate Penley Estate’s flagship Cabernet Sauvignon is a dense, dark and concentrated wine with much in common to the Southcorp labels of Wynns John Riddoch and Penfolds Bin 707. That’s hardly surprising, since winemaker Kym Tolley has extensive experience as a Southcorp winemaker. Penley’s other reds include the Hyland Shiraz, a pleasing combination of ripe fruit and sweet oak, the spicy and thoroughly approachable Shiraz Cabernet and the restrained Phoenix Cabernet Sauvignon. Redman The Redman name could hardly be more closely linked to the re-establishment of Coonawarra as a premium red wine region, although the company’s modern wines do perhaps sell on the glory of years gone by. The last four years have seen some elegant, supple reds whose riper fruit flavours have been given more new oak, but they still lack the consistency of Coonawarra’s more energetic makers. Rymill Rymill has quickly become a popular Coonawarra label after its owner, Peter Rymill, turned his attention from managing his extensive vineyards to the business of making its wine himself. Today his winemaker John Innes is responsible for some earthy, complex and relatively early-maturing wines under the Shiraz, Merlot Cabernets and Cabernet Sauvignon labels. The company also makes one of the region’s better Sauvignon Blancs and a distinctive sweet dessert wine called June Traminer. Wynns Coonawarra Thanks to the old woodcut label which has only partly been ruined by Southcorp’s product management, the historic Wynns winery is perhaps the best-known facade in all Australian wine and a must-visit for anyone passing through Coonawarra. Originally built over a century ago as the winery for John Riddoch, it manages to produce very large volumes of excellent red wine, of which all but the premier labels of John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon and Michael Shiraz are sold at prices so low they are virtually incomprehensible. The black label Cabernet Sauvignon is a benchmark Australian cabernet with a very impressive track record as a cellaring wine. Zema Estate With around 40 ha of some of Coonawarra’s finest red soils, Zema Estate is a red wine specialist which has entirely ignored the large-scale mechanical viticultural practices deployed in virtually all but the smallest of the region’s vineyards. Its reds are fine and elegant, with intense dark fruit and spicy flavours. Their firm tannins greatly assist their cellaring ability. Some stunning wines from 1998 show that Zema Estate’s reds might yet claim to be amongst the finest of the region.
