Wynns Coonawarra releases (including 2005 Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon)
A bit of frantic diary-reshuffling resulted in a Thursday lunch together last week with Wynns winemaker Sarah Pidgeon who was in town as part of the Coonawarra roadshow. Six glasses were procured from the friendly (though at the time, perhaps a little confused) staff from local lunchtime haunt Saigon to zip through the range over a lunch of seven meat rice and grilled pork and spring roll vermicelli.
Wynns Riesling 2006: Citrus, floral and sherbert nose and palate diven by jets of soft acidity with a decent finish. In the past I’ve looked at Wynns rieslings on release and been put off by their minerality and approached this tasting with this prejudice. I was pleasantly surprised at the softness and approachbility a year in bottle makes and have made a mental note to give the Wynns a little more time before getting stuck in (My preference for riesling is for rich and powerful with lots of zing and zip, as long as the fruit flavour is there to support it). The 2007 should be out soon. 16
Wynns Chardonnay 2006: Nice tight palate with chewy cashew and nectarine and white peach flavours. Very subtle, understated wine that finished with a good subsiding burst of flavour. A drink that’s driven by fruit rather than oak and indicative of the change in Australian chardonnay style. 16.5
Wynns Shiraz 2006: Very peppery wine with a spiciness that is accentuated by a mouthful of chewy tannins – but it works with the style. Tastes of licorice, plum, with lots of berry characters and a nice burst of pepper. Great finish that’s underpinned by good acidity, spice and florals. I’ve got some older vintages of this that I’m still cellaring away that I’ll be interesting to look at in a few years time. Often butchered at retail, this can be picked up for a song if you keep an eye out on V*ntage C*llars’ catalogues. 17
Wynns Cabernet Shiraz Merlot 2005: Wynn’s biggest volume wine. But on the day, this just tasted lackluster to me. Not that that’s a black mark against it, but when tasting a swath of Coonawarra produce, the “safeness” of this wine didn’t grab my attention the way some of the others did. But as a predominantly cabernet-blend, it’s all there. Good cabernet structure and the merlot and shiraz do a good job of filling out that middle palate. A bit of length too. 15.5
Wynns Cabernet Sauvignon 2005: Oh wow. This stunning red from a good vintage reduced me to a sycophantic mess of superlatives and expletives in front of Wynns winemaker Sarah Pidgeon. Whether you call it eucalyptus, menthol or squashed ants, this is distinctly Coonawarra cabernet on the nose and in the mouth. Strokes of earthy and at-times meaty shades of blackcurrant add to this juicy, medium-bodied beauty’s appeal, but top billing undoubtedly belongs to those gorgeous, firm, ripe tannins that populate “Black Label” Avenue in 2005 anno domini. These beautifully-judged tannins are responsible for this wine’s velveteen mouthfeel and longevity, both on the palette and in the cellar. This should go at least 12-15 years but is already drinking beautifully. While the number of candles on my last birthday cake prevent me from making comments about this wine in relation to its 50+ generation lineage (for what it’s worth, Sarah claimed it was “The best [Black Label] in a while,”), I’ll offer this: For new generation wine drinkers who are yet to sink (and stain) their teeth into the wondrous world of Coonawarra cabernet, few tickets are more accessible and affordable (RRP $29′ish but inexplicably often massacred to a shade above $20 at all the big chains) than the 2005 Wynns Cabernet Sauvignon. 18
Wynns Johnson’s Block Shiraz Cabernet 2004: Every year, the Wynns winemakers like to have a bit of a play and add something new to their range without the introduction of a’whole’nother drop to the Wynns portfolio – hence the production of these limited drops with the current offering having been sourced from the 1920s planted Johnson’s Block (surprise, surprise). Medium bodied, mouth filling cocktail of dark red berry fruit, laced with defined tannins and punctuated with a pleasing floral exclamation mark. Not a bad drop that certainly ticks all the boxes, but perhaps looking a bit one-dimensional for now: it’d be interesting to chart this wine’s development over the next eight years. Available in tiny quantities (RRP $35) with very limited distribution. 16.5+
Wynns Michael Shiraz 2004: Courtesy of the forces of nature, the ’03 was the first Michael Shiraz released in four years. During the wine’s marketplace hiatus, winemakers took the opportunity to change the style a little and made the change from new American oak to the French stuff while simultaneously putting less and less of the wine into new barrels. This change in winemaking direction combined with Mother Nature’s favour has created a deliciously approachable and softer style of shiraz that is closer to, say, Adelaide Hills than Barossa or McLaren Vale. It smells of raspberries sprinkled with finely-grounded white pepper and tastes the same with touches of leather and spice rounding it out in the mouth. Stylish tannins and juicy acidity help carry the flavours from A to B and should also C the wine travel to alphabetical destinations far beyond with time in the cellar. Delightfully approachable, yet complex and medium bodied and a good each-way bet. 17.5
Wynns John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon: Bullshit names and a deluge of new “premium” brands with similarly questionable “flagship” wines has definitely taking some of the sheen off of the idea of flagship wines. However, it’s safe to say that this year’s John Riddoch would make a worthy craft to lead any winery’s vinous armarda. While Sarah says plenty of work has been put into the quality of French Oak being used, this was perhaps the woodiest of the line-up on the nose with a distinct chocolate (milk, dark, Lindt, Nestle… take your pick) character to smell. Lovely tannins and a real richness of flavour make for a wine that sits beautifully in the mouth, powered by chocolate, florals, spice, bright blackcurrant (verging on plum) and a hint of nougat – I wish my bank balance was as attractive as the balance on the ’04 John Riddoch’s, however, my debtors list isn’t too far off the length of this wine..! Exceptional cabernet. 18.5
Obviously I liked almost all the reds – but while based solely on points, the John Riddoch just pips the 05 Black Label – the latter’s amazing value makes it my pick of the lot. Most with established cellars should already have a corner dedicated to the wine that after a bit of grumbling, has hit some great form courtesy of excellent ’04 and ’05 releases. But on the other hand, those in the process of establishing their own wine collection would do well to grab a case or two of this. www.wynns.com.au
Tasting notes on the tasting notes: All wines rated out of 20 and were tasted with the winemaker. I was also aware of each wine’s identity. While all had been open prior to the restaurant, I am unsure of how long some of the wines had been airing for – I suspect that based on logistics, quantities available and their approachability, the ultra-premiums (ie John Riddoch, Michael etc) may have been open for a while.
A smaller aside, I brought along a bottle of ’03 Margaret River cabernet (review to follow soon) from one of the region’s best “new” producers to lunch for us to look at and it was interesting to compare the stylistic differences (though admittedly the Margaret River cabernet had only a limited amount of air time and we were not tasting out of great stemware) between the two, particularly those minty Coonawarran characters versus Margaret River’s telltale bay leaf and earthiness. While the tasting wasn’t controlled enough to come to any worthwhile conclusions, I will say that at the time of tasting, I enjoyed the approachability of the South Australian contingent but suspected the Margaret River drop would look better in five to eight years time.
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