Pre-release Coonawarra Tasting Notes  (5 June)

 

In the past, I have traditionally kicked off the Tour Diaries with a detailed vintage report. However, on this occasion I am going to break with tradition and instead, have a special treat in store. From August the 18th to the 27th the Coonawarra Roadshow will hit the capital cities of Australia, this time including Canberra for the first time. Many of the wineries take this opportunity to launch their new releases. During our two days in Coonawarra we tried a large number of wines which have not been released yet, but will be rolled out between now and the commencement of the Roadshow. As many of these wines are highly sought after, or very popular, or both, I am providing the tasting notes for these wines before the rest of the Tour Diary. This will be the most extensive preview of upcoming Coonawarra releases ever published in one article. (There are a few tasting notes of wines that have literally just been released too.)

 

The following tasting notes are presented in the order the wineries were visited and wines were tried.

 

Wynns 2007 Shiraz will sell for approximately $18 when it is released and is sealed under screwcap. The wine had just been bottled so was not showing its best. The bouquet was slightly stinky but there was some pleasant, ripe, sweet peppery fruit below. It's driven by loads of fresh fruit which are adequately supported by silky tannins, and come together to form a medium-weight wine with a soft consistency, and agreeable level of complexity. Chocolate, hints of pepper and creamy tannins finish dry and long with a touch of tar. This wine will be hugely popular but needs time to settle down. The rating of Agreeable with **** for value does not do it justice and it will increase once it gets over its bottle shock; drink from 2009 to 2015.

 

Wynns 2006 Cabernet Shiraz Merlot sells for approximately $18 and is sealed under screwcap. The wine is a blend of 50% cabernet, 40% Shiraz and 10% Merlot. It is affectionately known as the”red stripe” Wynns. The bouquet is black showing tar, blackberry, plum and light, leafy notes with lifted menthol aromatics. The juicy-fruit driving the wine is beautifully framed by abundant, silky, chewy, dusty tannins which form a medium-weight, supple wine with a solid structure and an agreeable complexity. Plums, violets, blackcurrant, and chocolate flavours are contrasted by a slightly sappy mid-palate and a long, drying finish. The wine is approachable now but will improve. Rated as Recommended with **** for value (based on a street price of $15) it will comfortably last till 2015.

 

Wynns 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon will sell for $30 when it is released and is sealed under screwcap. The bouquet shows tight varietal characters underpinned by clean and bright fruit. The abundant, silky tannins fully coat the mouth and provide solid support to the deeply-seated, pure fruit. It's a muscular-weight, supple wine that is very tight and has a well-developed level of complexity. Blackcurrant, rich chocolate, and leafy, minty characters provide all the flavour that should be found in a good Coonawarra Cabernet. It shows a little warmth on the palate but that's nothing to be concerned about. At last, after 12 years this wine is back to its former glory. Rated as Highly Recommended with **** for value, the rating should improve as it reaches its peak drinking window between 2016 and 2026.

 

Wynns 2005 Messenger Block Cabernet Sauvignon will sell for $35 when it is released and is sealed under screwcap. The bouquet is a wonderful combination of floral aromatics and dirty earthy characters. The ripe fruit is delightful and together with the smooth, drying tannins provide a lovely, harmonious balance to the wine. Juicy-fruit delivers off-sweet blackberry; the vanillin oak provides milk chocolate and it has hints of dried herbs. A muscular-weight wine with a supple consistency, the structure is solid, tight and shows some elegance. This is a slight step up in quality over the previous single vineyard releases, and is a more complete wine. Rated as Highly Recommended with **** for value, the rating should increase as the wine enters its peak drinking window between 2012 and 2020.

 

Wynns 2005 Michael Shiraz will sell for approximately $70 when it is released and is sealed under screwcap. The wine is now matured in almost all French oak. The bouquet shows blackberry, plum, hints of black pepper, and spice. It's a well-balanced wine and the deeply-seated, strong fruit delivers plum, pepper, blackberry and hints of oregano which are offset by prominent coffee oak. The acid is fresh and the tannins silky. A muscular-weight, supple wine with a solid structure and well-developed complexity, it's a good wine but from a personal perspective I don't like the oregano component, although many will. Rated as Excellent with *** for value, it should be in its peak drinking window between 2012 and 2022.

 

Wynns 2005 John Riddoch will sell for approximately $80 when it is released and is sealed under screwcap. The bouquet is broody but fresh and clean. This is a seriously good wine with masses of pure, fresh, ripe fruit that is almost seamlessly meshed with smooth, fine tannins and crisp acid. Dark chocolate, blackcurrant, coffee, hints of cigar box, tobacco leaf, plum and cherry flavours together with all sorts of other good things finish on very long, drying tannins. It's a full-bodied wine with a supple consistency and a tight, solid structure. It's more approachable than previous versions and is rated Excellent with *** for value, but the rating may improve as the wine enters its peak drinking window between 2015 and 2030. The work that Wynns have done in their vineyards is starting to pay big dividends.

 

Balnaves 2006 The Blend has just been released, is sealed under screwcap and sells for $19 at cellar door. The bouquet is soft and creamy and shows plum and vanillin oak. Smooth but chewy, powdery tannins combine with fresh acid and pure, deeply-seated, strong, juicy fruit to form a wine that is just ample in weight, has a supple consistency, and a solid structure. The palate profile is both sweet and off sweet with dark chocolate, vanilla, blackberry, black current and cigar box. It finishes with acceptable persistence but there is not much on the back palate. Still, it's very quaffable, has tonnes of fruit flavour and will be hugely popular. Rated as Agreeable with *** for value, drink over the next five years.

 

Balnaves 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon sells for $35, has just been released, and is sealed under Procork. The wine was matured in French oak, about two thirds of which was new. The bouquet is very sweet showing ripe morello cherry fruit, cigar box/spicy oak and sweet vanillin characters. Loads of fine, drying tannins perfectly frame the package. This is a serious wine that needs time to soften further and come together. The quality, pure fruit is driving the wine and delivers blueberry, milk chocolate, plum and herb flavours which finish with very good length and crisp acidity. Just ample in weight, it has a supple consistency and a solid structure; it’s rated as Highly Recommended with *** for value. Another good result for Balnaves, but that's to be expected.

 

Balnaves 2006 The Tally will sell for $90 when it is released and is sealed under Procork. The wine had just been bottled. The bouquet was tight; the spicy coffee oak dominated proceedings but there is some serious, quality, plummy fruit buried below. If ever a wine had said “piss off, leave me alone and come back in ten years time,” this was it. This is a very serious wine. The deeply-seated fruit is currently buried by the ultrafine, smooth, drying tannins. The palate is varietal with blueberry, plum, vanilla, mocha and all sorts of other good things that are just waiting to surface. It's locked up tight, yet it still manages to flash some elegance through its solid structure and refined complexity. Rated as Excellent with *** for value, the rating should improve as the wine enters its peak drinking window between 2018 and 2032.

 

Penley Estate 2006 Hyland Coonawarra Shiraz will sell for less than $20 when it is released and is sealed under screwcap. Anyone who doesn't like Coonawarra Shiraz needs to buy a bottle of this wine; it will change your mind about the category. It opened up a little stinky but that quickly blew off to reveal attractive spices, vanilla and blackberry fruit. The tannins are fine, smooth and silky, and provide a soft consistency and solid structure for this ample-weight, harmonious wine. It's splendidly balanced and driven by massive amounts of pure, deep, strong, ripe fruit that delivers off-sweet flavours of black cherry, dark chocolate, spice, vanilla, mint and tar flavours that finish with terrific persistence. It's great value and has an attractive flavour profile. Rated as Recommended with **** for value drink over the next five years.

 

Penley Estate 2006 Phoenix Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon will retail for the less than $20 when it is released and is sealed under screwcap. The attractive, floral, perfumed aromatics are very diverse. Silky, powdery tannins currently dominate the deeply-seated, ripe fruit but the wine is in balance and well constructed. Blackberry, plum, loads of chocolate, mocha and herb flavours finish with respectable length. A medium-weight, supple wine that sits well in the mouth, the structure is tight and the complexity very agreeable. It can be found for as low as $17 which makes it sensational value, and at that price it would be rated as Recommended with ***** for value. A few years in the cellar will be amply rewarded. This wine represents approximately 50% of Penley's production. That's no surprise as it a stunningly good wine for the price.

 

Penley Estate 2006 Condor is a blend of Shiraz and Cabernet; it will retail for approximately $20 when it is released and is sealed under screwcap. The bouquet shows loads of spice and noticeable coffee and vanillin oak influence. An ample-weight, tight and solid wine, the fruit is deeply-seated but it needs time to surface from below the smooth, drying tannins. It's off-sweet with a hint of fruit sweetness below; blue and black fruits, mocha, milk chocolate and dried herbs finish long and fresh. Rated as Recommended with **** for value, it's approachable now but the rating should improve as the wine matures. Drink between now and 2016.

 

Penley Estate 2005 Chertsey is a Bordeaux blend that will sell for $50 from cellar door when it is released, and is sealed under cork. Four hundred cases have been produced. The bouquet shows ripe black cherry, spice and floral notes; it's very complex and attractive. The wine maintains a lovely, harmonious structure and balance, and the silky tannins, which creep up on you, have a slinky mouth feel. The pure fruit delivers blackcurrant, mocha, black chocolate, spice, and leafy notes which finish very long and with terrific intensity. An impeccable wine of ample-weight, it has a supple consistency, a tight structure and should become seamless in time. It certainly has some class. Rated as Excellent with *** for value; it should enter its peak drinking window between 2012 and 2019.

 

Penley Estate 2005 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon will sell for $50 at cellar door when it is released, and is sealed under cork. The bouquet is classy and attractive with violets, blackcurrant and blueberry notes together with noticeable spicy oak. A wine of flawless construction and perfect balance, the ultra-fine and tight tannins are very smooth; the fruit is deeply-seated and of great purity, and the acid fresh. Blueberry, blackberry, mocha, dark chocolate, a hint of herbs together with spicy oak flavours, finishes broad on the palate. The complexity is intricate, the construction harmonious, and the structure tight, in this ample-weight, supple wine.  It’s seriously good quality and slightly more forward and blousy than the 2004, but is most enjoyable; rated as Excellent with *** for value, it should be in its peak drinking window between 2013 and 2020.

 

Penley Estate 2005 Special Select Shiraz will sell for $50 at cellar door when it is released, and is sealed under cork. This is a very good quality Coonawarra Shiraz.  The bouquet shows liqueur blackberry, spice and liquorice. A respectable balance has been achieved between the fine, silky tannins, the unobtrusive acid and the pure, deeply-seated fruit. It's a muscular-weight wine with a solid structure, supple consistency and harmonious construction. Cassis, blackberry, dark chocolate, mocha, and loads of spicy/smoky coffee oak flavours finish very long and with incredible persistence. It's approachable now but needs time to show its best and will be in its peak drinking window between 2012 and 2019. Rated as Excellent with *** for value.

 

Majella 2006 Shiraz will sell for $28 at cellar door when it is released and is sealed under screwcap. The bouquet showed spicy earthy notes with a hint of VA/EA. The charming juicy fruit delivers plum, chocolate, mint and liquorice flavours, which combine to create an enchanting, flavour profile, that finishes with good persistence. An ample-weight, supple wine; the pure-fruit has been perfectly matched to the fine, dusty tannins, and fresh acid. It's a very young and fresh but approachable now; rated as Recommended with *** for value, the rating should improve as the wine enters its peak drinking window between 2011 and 2017.

 

Majella 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon will sell for $28 when it is released and is sealed under screwcap. The bottle had just been opened and the bouquet was varietal, dusty, clean but broody. The bright and juicy fruit delivers blackcurrant, mocha, chocolate, mint, and mushroom flavours that finish with a hint of bitterness, which is frequently a good sign in a young wine. The tannins are fine, soft, silky and drying and are unerringly matched to the pure, deeply-seated fruit. The wine is ample-weight, very tight, has a well-developed complexity, and whilst it's approachable now it will improve over the next couple of years. Rated as Highly Recommended with **** for value, the rating should improve as the wine reaches its peak sometime between now and 2020. The only question remaining is, is this wine as good as the superb 2004? It going to be close. Very close.

 

Majella 2005 Malleea will sell for $66 when it is released and is sealed under cork. The wine spent three years in new French oak. The bouquet shows loads of primary, ripe fruit including blueberry, vanillin oak, spice, cedar and mushroom; it's creamy and has excellent complexity. The fruit is deeply-seated, bright and very pure delivering blackberry, loads of rich chocolate, some leafy characters, aniseed, etc etc. It finishes very long. An ample-weight wine with a supple consistency, the tannins are ultrafine and velvety and perfectly in sync with the fresh acid and fruit. There is a noticeable level of quality oak on the palate, but there is more than enough fruit to sop it all up. The complexity is sophisticated and the construction harmonious. The wine has a better flavour profile than its predecessor. Rated as Excellent with **** for value, it should be in its peak drinking window between 2015 and 2025.

 

I did not visit Zema Estate on this trip, but as they had just sent me two samples that are being released on 1 July, I have included them here also.

 

Zema Estate 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon will sell for $22 at cellar door when it is released and is sealed under cork. The bouquet was initially closed but eventually opened to reveal cigar box, blackcurrant, tealeaf characters and cedar. The tannins appear to the unobtrusive but they certainly back this muscular-weight wine solidly. The deep, strong, pure fruit that is driving this wine is yummy and has fantastic intensity. It finishes with excellent length too. It's sweet, savoury, spicy with blackberry, tar, tomato leaf and all sorts of other good flavours that finish dry, clean and crisp. The complexity is well-developed and it's as tight as a drum. Coonawarra Cabernet does not get better at this price, and whilst it's approachable now it will improve and change over time. Rated as Highly Recommended with **** for value, if you can pick it up for a few dollars less on special, it would rate is five stars for value, and can be drunk any time from now to 2020. This is the best Zema Cabernet I have had in fifteen vintages.
 

That's the good news; however I am concerned about the quality of the corks used in this wine. Both the initial two samples were corked and whilst that may be just bad luck, given the problems I had with the same vintage of the Zema Shiraz, I am not convinced.

 

Zema Estate 2005 Shiraz will sell for $20 at cellar door when it is released and is sealed under cork. The bouquet was initially broody but it opened up to show signs of sweet fruit with spicy notes together with black fruit characters and a hint of liquorice. The palate is not at all sweet, it's very savoury and the flavour profile most enjoyable. The strong fruit delivers pleasant, plummy fruit, loads and aniseed, vanilla, spice and the excellent intensity finishes a very long. It's a muscular-weight supple wine with a solid structure and is probably in a hole at the moment. After 24 hours it was way better and had opened to show its true character. Drink from 2012 to 2016, it's rated as Recommended with *** for value, but the rating should improve as it enters its peak drinking window.
 

That's the good news. The bad news, and it would be remiss of me not to mention it, is that I'm concerned about the batch of corks that has been used to seal this wine. Zema always sends two samples in case there is a problem with the first. In this case, both samples of Shiraz were corked. What made me more concerned was when I spotted another reviewer who describe this wine as “lacking freshness and charm.” That would have described the second bottle opened to a tee, which I thought was suffering from low level cork taint. However, the good bottle was a far better and certainly didn't lack freshness or charm.

 

What a great line up of wines and if you are in Australia, it'll certainly be worthwhile going to the Coonawarra Roadshow. The quality of wines coming out of Coonawarra have never been better and these tasting notes will provide an indication of what you can look forward to in the 2008 South Australian Tour Diaries.

 

 

 

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