I had the pleasure of recently attending a tasting of the new release wines from Coonawarra kindly put on by Tyson Stelzer. I’d never tasted wines in this manner before & it was a learning experience in many ways. Here were the wines tasted, in the order they were served (lowest price to highest price)-
2009 Majella Coonawarra Riesling
2007 Balnaves The Blend Merlot Cabernet
2007 Penley Estate Phoenix Cabernet Sauvignon
2007 Richmond Grove Limited Release Cabernet Sauvignon
2007 Balnaves Cabernet Merlot
2006 Brand’s Laira Cabernet Sauvignon
2007 Wolf Blass Gold Label Cabernet Sauvignon
2007 Leconfield Cabernet Sauvignon
2007 Wynn’s Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon
2007 Majella Cabernet Sauvignon
2007 Balnaves Cabernet Sauvignon
2006 Wynns Alex 88 Cabernet Sauvignon
2006 Katnook Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
2006 Wynns The Gables Cabernet Shiraz
2006 Lindemans Pyrus Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Franc Merlot
2006 Lindemans Limestone Ridge Shiraz Cabernet
2006 Lindemans St George Cabernet Sauvignon
2006 Wynns John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon
2007 Balnaves The Tally Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
I’m listing them as I think the wines in a comparative tasting influence the notes taken. At least they do for me. And I’m not going to post tasting notes, as I felt too new to tasting such a large bracket of wines to give anything other than a overview with standouts, good & bad.
Firstly, it’s well known that the 2007 Coonawarra Vintage was a harsh one. Frost and drought had a massive impact on the fruit quality in general. But it was interesting to see how the wineries listed dealt with the difficulties. The 2007 Majella Cabernet Sauvignon stood out amongst all the 2007s. And it was for a reason. Majella made a very, very small amount of this wine, available only to the mailing list in limited quantities. There was no flagship Mallea made due to the sub-standard vintage.
Basically this meant that Majella could produce a better wine by being extremely selective with the fruit it chose to include. Other wineries were, perhaps, not as selective and the wines suffered. For me, only the Wynns Black Label and the Leconfield produced wines of real merit. Others will disagree (and others at the tasting were free to and did), but that’s wine.
A winery like Balnaves, which I love, seemed to be inflexible in their stylistic stance. Peter Bissell obviously enjoys his new oak. But the fruit seemed too dry to handle the new oak evident in the in his 2007 wines, barring the Tally. The tannins & astringency seemed out of kilter. In time these wines may come into better balance, but I don’t feel compelled to buy any for my cellar.
The 2006 wines were, by and large, more compelling than the 2007. Yes, they had an extra year on them and many were more expensive. But that didn’t seem to completely account for how pleased I was to taste them after a whack of 2007 action.
The highlights to me were the excellent 2006 Wynns John Riddoch (Wine of the Night by far), the 2006 Wynns Alex 88 (which I have written up before), the 2006 Katnook Estate Cabernet Sauvignon (which showed some real elegance at its lower ABV) and the 2007 Balnaves The Tally. Some found the Tally unconvincing, and certainly it was not a subtle wine, but I would happily have some in my cellar. And it needs a fair bit of time. At the moment the tannin attack almost begins on the front palate! But I think it will all come into focus. Only time will tell.
I hear 2008 looks more promising for the region, which is great news. Coonawarra Cabernet is very important to Australia’s wine portfolio. And at the end of the night I was treated to two examples of why. The 2002 Majella Cabernet Sauvigon was drinking superbly with plenty of life left in it. The 2000 Majella Mallea was even better (Cabernet Shiraz blend). Both wines exhibited restraint, flow and finesse. Real elegance actually. And I am beginning to think that the is the style best suited to the region.
On a slightly different note, it was great to taste these wines with people who possessed far more experience and knowledge about wine than myself. It did not rob me of my opinion, but it certainly informed it.
ps- The Wolf Blass was sugary commercial crap. I am biased, but that’s how it tasted to me and I can’t deny myself the pleasure of saying so 
A lovely summary JP. By interest what did you make of the Wynns Gable?
I though it was a cellar door only special but just yesterday I noticed it at one of my local pubs for $36 a bottle/$8 a glass.
Cheers,
Chris P
Thanks Chris. I was picking splinters out of my teeth by the end of the night but it was very enjoyable none the less.
The Gables seemed a very sweet/sour wine. I remember thinking that I would like to taste it again but wouldn't be overly fussed if I didn't get the chance. As you know, I prefer tasting a wine over a longer period of time. And whilst I still think that's the best way to do it, I don't think it makes other ways entirely useless.
This tasting was very productive for me, and a few with more experience doing it seemed to be able to handle the onsluaght of wines much better than myself. I just took it as an overview of a vintage, framed by some wines from the previous year. And as a comparative look at different styles used within one region and how they worked in the context of time and conditions.
So I'm sorry I can't say too much about The Gables here. It is, as you say, available at retail if you look around. So if my fancy heads that way I may give it a "proper" whirl sometime. So many wines to try and buy…