Wine of the Month January 2008
Wynns Coonawarra Estate
Cabernet Sauvignon
Coonawarra, South Australia 2002
O.K., O.K.; I'll admit. I've neglected this site over the past several months. But now we're back by popular demand. The reasons I've neglected this website are simple and two-fold. Firstly, I have not found many wines worth writing about the last 6-9 months. Secondly, I just have not had enough time lately. Afterall, this website is just a hobby for me. I don't take any ads and don't receive any income from this. I have to work just like everyone else. So now, without further ado, on to the wine of the month......
A common complaint from many readers of this website is that the wines we review tend to be higher end (i.e., relatively expensive). My favorite wines tend to be Napa Valley cabernets, Bordeauxs, Burgundies, and Brunellos. Unfortunately, it is getting awfully hard to find any reasonably priced high quality wines from these regions any more. So it is with great enthusiasm that I present the winner of the January 2008 Wine of the Month. The Wynns Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon, vintage 2002. 2002 was a good year for much of Australia, and this wine is no exception. It is widely available at the local supermarkets. Ralph's has it for about $17. I got another bottle elsewhere a few weeks ago for about $15 (can't remember if it was Vons or Albertson's).
This is not an un-sold wine that has just been lying on the store shelves for the last few years. It is actually a 2002 that has been aged at the winery and is now released nicely aged and ready to drink. This is a welcomed change of pace from our California wineries that increasingly are releasing the wines 2-3 years before they are ready for consumption. In contrast, many Australian wineries seem to be holding their wines a year or two longer than the California wineries. I think this is a good thing. Unfortunately, some of the newer Australian wine producers are producing overly jammy, overly alcoholic wines with minimal bottle age. Most of these do not sell in Australia, but are produced almost entirely for the American marketplace. Such wineries give Australian wines a bad rap in the USA. Thankfully for us, traditional Australian wineries like Wynns produce excellent wines at affordable prices.
Wynns is a very old winemaking operation in Australia. It was founded by John Riddoch in 1891. Mr. Riddoch built the winery and planted the initial vineyards. Eventually, the winery was sold to the Wynn brothers (Samuel and David) in 1951, and the winery took it's current name at that time. The winery is located in Coonawarra, which is a region in the state of South Australia. The majority of high-flying South Australian wines that hit the shores of the USA are from Barossa Valley and neighboring regions. Coonawarra is south and east of Barossa, almost on the border with the state of Victoria. The climate in Coonawarra is relatively cool, and the region is best known for it's Cabernets, in contrast to Barossa which is best known for it's Shiraz. The soil in Coonawarra is described as "Terra Rossa" red topsoil overlying a porous limestone undersoil. The weather tends to be cool, the growing season long, and the vines in this area tend to be old. All of these factors help Wynns to produce top flight Cabernet.
The 2002 Wynns Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon (Black label) is ready to drink right now. It has a fragrant bouguet of blackberry, cedar and mint. It is a medium weight Cabernet with soft well integrated tannin and a long but smooth finish. I believe if you tasted this wine in a blind tasting with $40-$50 Napa cabs, you would rank this wine near the top of the list. For the price it can't be beat.
Just shy of 4 stars: Price $17.99 at most local grocery stores.
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