We knew that 1994 was a good vintage in Coonawarra. Trouble was, we didn’t know how good. Now that most of the 1994 reds have become difficult to find, especially after the region’s rather dismal red wine performance in 1995, it’s becoming clearer with every passing month that 1994 was something special. It was never as warm as the unusually ripe 1990 vintage and its wines never showed the immediate intensity and purity of regional fruit that typified the crop of 1991. Instead, 1994 was unusually even and dry, with sunny but relatively cool conditions throughout the ripening season. The rain which frequently accompanies such moderate years never fell, so grapes were left to ripen ever so slowly to perfect levels of sugar and flavour with little threat from disease. The class of ’94 is a refined, restrained batch which, if lacking the immediate richness and power of 1990 or 1993, more than makes up with length, elegance and their superbly fine-grained tannin extract. Fruit tannins became so tight they integrated superbly with fruit. The only clumsy wines from this season tend to be those still dumbstruck by over-exposure by over-enthusiastic winemakers to aggressive new oak. Several just need time. This vintage is all about balance. Although the final crops were slightly above average, the vines carried a balanced crop. The best wines deftly marry fruit, oak and tannin and appear capable of maturing for at least a single decade. Winemakers did their thing, but they were clearly made in the vineyard, largely from mechanically pruned and mechanically harvested vines operating at balanced levels of fruit to foliage, the product of pruning to balanced buds numbers per vine. Since the early 1980s I have been thoroughly sceptical towards what I and others saw as ‘bargain basement viticulture’, the near-exclusive use of mechanised techniques in Coonawarra which simultaneously slashed vineyard management bills and created an ugly bush-like canopy. My doubts multiplied throughout the decade, fuelled by a rash of greenish, unbalanced red wines which appeared to have been made from fruit both over and under-ripe. Disappointing results from several large companies from the great 1990 vintage suggested that mechanised viticulture was unable to handle hot seasons without a tendency to turn Coonawarra cabernet into something more akin to vintage port. It’s taken a long time for vineyard managers to fine-tune their approach to mechanised pruning, but having recently visited Coonawarra to pursue this issue with two of its most experienced proponents in Vic Patrick and Max Arney, I’m genuinely surprised at the level to which Coonawarra growers now control their vines. Vic oversees Mildara Blass’ national vineyard operations and was formerly with Wynns Coonawarra, while Max manages Southcorp’s Coonawarra vineyards. Max says his main problem today is bringing the quality of his remaining hand-pruned vines up to mechanised standards. Mechanised pruning effectively hedges vine canopies into a relatively tall and narrow shape. Growers generally leave 120-140 buds per vine and given that around 75% of these actually shoot, the balance is very similar to the traditional hand-pruned Coonawarra system of 80-90 buds. These vineyards crop at normal levels, around 3.0-3.5 tonnes per acre for cabernet sauvignon and 4.5 for shiraz. Grape bunches are smaller, but tend to grow and ripen in ideal positions close to the outside of the canopy, well removed from potential problems of crowding or shading. They are evenly spread throughout the height of the vine and actually ripen within a more narrow band of sugar levels than with hand-pruned vines on the traditional Coonawarra system. The Coonawarra reds of the 1990s are a degree or so riper than those of the 1980s. Furthermore, its growers and winemakers are working more closely than ever before. Vic Patrick is constantly communicating to Mildara Blass’ various winemakers to ensure that each receives the fruit composition they are after, even if different winemakers require different specifications of sugar, flavour and acidity. I’d never have believed it if I hadn’t seen it, but Coonawarra’s vines are now mostly in balance. It could be argued that in 1994 the modern approach truly came together for the first time. This tasting of several of Coonawarra’s best cabernets from ’94 confirms that it deserves its place amongst the classic vintages, although several wines did not rate as highly in this tasting as on previous occasions, something not uncommon with cabernet sauvignons in their second and third years.
