While growers in other South Australian regions are less optimistic, Coonawarra’s vignerons are already happy to rate the 1999 vintage with the recent classic years of 1990, 1991, 1996 and 1998. Having missed most of the rainfall which adversely affected the fate of regions like the Adelaide Hills and McLaren Vale, Coonawarra finished what began as a very warm, dry season with more temperate weather, encouraging the late development of full flavour and physiological ripeness in both cabernet sauvignon and shiraz. With lower than usual crop levels, cabernet ripeness rivalled the levels of 1990, with Baume levels reported between 13.8-14.5.
