Despite the accolades and the long history of outstanding wines, Coonawarra and Wrattonbully remain some of the most undervalued regions in Australia – if not the world. The cool climate and terra rossa soils almost magically combine to produce outstanding cabernet sauvignon relatively regularly, with the odd benchmark Shiraz. Whether it is the geographical isolation of the regions, which sit around halfway between Melbourne and Adelaide on a lonely stretch of road, or the rise of Australian big red styles, Coonawarra and Wrattonbully have failed in recent years to get the market cut-through they deserve after for a long time being a classic wine region enjoyed by a broad swathe of consumers. But after tasting the wines for this year’s guide, and also reading the tea leaves of local and international wine tastings, there is plenty of opportunity for Coonawarra to rise up in the consciousness of wine drinkers and collectors around the world.
The magic of Coonawarra and Wrattonbully is in the cerebral styling of its finest wines. These are not wines with gobfuls of decadent fruit, plushness and obvious appeal, or which jump out of the glass and say ‘Look at me’. These are intellectual wines that slowly creep up before revealing their considerable charms. In a world of immediate gratification, Coonawarra is not the first pick. But change is in the
air, as we are increasingly seeing consumers searching for sophistication in their experiences, including wines that offer fruit vibrancy and moderate alcohol, and this is where the south-east shines. Coonawarra is also a chameleon. Yes, there are wines that can drink well for decades, with significant structure. Yet, many of Coonawarra’s best are also remarkably approachable from a young age, offering an each-way bet of upfront flavour and drinkability coupled with sophistication and structure. While a couple of years to settle in the bottle is often ideal, in many cases, we are splitting hairs.
Over 75 wines were tasted, from 17 wineries, with a number of key takeaways. Firstly, it was excellent to see consistency of quality across the board. Winemakers have clearly got a very good handle on how to craft quality wines that show both strong regional and varietal characters. Fruit ripeness and oak were generally well managed, which saw lovely purity and the class of Coonawarra’s terroir shining brightly.
Unsurprisingly, Cabernet Sauvignon was the star, as it makes up the vast majority of regional plantings, but there are also some honourable mentions for Cabernet Franc, Shiraz, Merlot and even Sauvignon Blanc, thanks to the considerable effort of Xavier Bizot at Terre à Terre, which remains one of the top examples of its style in the country. It is slightly surprising that more winemakers do not do the same. The classic blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz, or vice versa, also is very much at home, particularly in Coonawarra.
Coonawarra’s well known ageing potential was clear in the range of wines sampled. Wines from Yalumba, Redman and Leconfield from the 2014, 2016 and 2018 vintages, respectively, were all drinking beautifully and just starting to hit their peak. Both the 2016 Redman William Wilson Shiraz Cabernet and the Leconfield Sydney Reserve were still very vibrant and youthful, promising to offer at least a decade, if not two, of drinking pleasure. But the most exciting part of the tasting was wines from the classic 2021 and 2022 vintages. The 2021s in particular have an effortless quality as seen in the great Coonawarra vintages.
The best wines have every piece in its perfect place with concentrated and focused fruit beautifully intertwined with firm yet fine tannins and a finish of extreme length. The overall consistency of this vintage is superb and it genuinely is a vintage where it is hard to go wrong. Balnaves, Redman, Terre à Terre, Wynns and Leconfield have produced what are probably their best wines in years – yes, they are really that good, and in a classic mid-weight package.
But don’t discount 2022, which is a bigger, riper vintage, with some quite serious underlying power and volume of tannins. The leading wines from the vintage are not out yet, so it is hard to generalise. The 2022 vintage has certainly delivered impressive fruit density and structure that will see the wines age well, but the overall feel is that the natural balance of the 2021 vintage will see it triumph by a short nose over the long term. Time will tell.
