Coonawarra 14.5% Screwcap $28 Source: Sample
Max Allen’s new book, ‘The Future Makers: Australian Wines for the 21st Century’ refers to “the beautiful, rustic, salami-loving edge of Zema Estate’s reds”. It’s a line that I hope my readers have firmly in their minds as they approach each of my reviews of the new release Zema wines.
Sure, you know it’s Coonawarra Cabernet the moment you put your nose in the glass, but it speaks of a house style as much as it does of the region in which it is made. It is another of those wines that highlights the intersection of terroir and interpretation.
Many people believe the platonic form of Coonawarra is elegance. They have a point, but recent vintages haven’t exactly thrown up the conditions for that particular quality to be explored with consistent success. I wouldn’t call Zema’s reds elegant. They are bucolic. Wines less to be judged and more to be enjoyed (preferably with that old cliché, food & friends) So,what is my judgement on this one?
It’s a little flat and a suggestion of rum and raisin pudding lies under the more expected cassis, mint and leaf. Fresher red fruits balance that…and anyway, that slightly spirity, curranty aspect is actually pretty pleasant as far as I’m concerned. It also smells of the red soils it was grown in. Violets, coffee grounds, cigars and root vegetables fill out the picture.
Quite soft and supple in the mouth before strict, linear tannins kick in, providing ample structure for at least mid-term cellaring. It’s not that heavy either, despite what the aromas suggest. Cedary oak is prominent but not out of balance. At times it seems a little hazy and the finish could do with greater conviction, but it displays the sort of honesty that I seek and respect in a wine.
Winery website- http://www.zema.com.au/