Wynn’s Coonawarra Estate John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

Gotta love a wine that unfolds slowly over time, what you first sniff and taste is subtly different to what you sniff and taste an hour, half a day, a day, later. My notes for John Riddoch came in two acts, two tastings over two days. I am sure there could be a lot more acts, indeed, a full play waiting to be discovered in this outstanding example of Coonawarra Cabernet. There’s no shying away from what it is, there is a noteworthy herbal presence throughout and rich layers of black fruits and berries, vanilla and gentle spice. The rising, aromatic florals, led by violet, lift the wine, the earthy, chocolate and spice notes ring in behind. Fruit, oak and tannin are beautifully in sync, probably the best for some time. Ripe, supple but firm tannins bring extra focus, and there’s plenty in the tank for the future. Beautifully in balance.

Jeni Port

Wine critic at Winepilot

Jeni Port is one of Australia’s top wine communicators. Based in Melbourne, Jeni created the first wine column in the (then) Sun News-Pictorial before moving over to The Age and becoming that paper’s longest-serving wine writer. Over the years she has written for most Australian wine magazines and these days calls WinePilot home. She is also a Tasting Panel member on the Halliday Wine Companion. She was named Wine Communicator of the Year and Legend of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival in 2014 and in 2018 Legend of the Vine. She is a founding board member of Australian Women In Wine and is the co-deputy chair of Australia’s Wine List of the Year Awards and China’s Wine List of the Year Awards.

Wine writer and critic