Wynns Coonawarra Property will launch its status wine John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 at La Place de Bordeaux in September. It is likely one of the prime wines in Australia, made in small portions from the property’s finest cabernet sauvignon grapes. We tasted the wine and likewise had a chat with head winemaker Sue Hodder.
Coonawarra was one of many areas that first gained a popularity for making high-quality wines in Australia. It’s positioned on the southernmost tip of South Australia. “It’s far-off from most issues”, says Sue. “It’s 5 hours by automobile from Melbourne and likewise 5 hours from Adelaide.”
The comparability with Bordeaux will not be farfetched. The local weather is extra reasonable than in lots of Australian wine areas. It’s really much like Bordeaux, says Sue. “In Coonawarra, we’re cooled by the Southern Ocean as there is no such thing as a land mass between us and the Antarctic.” The imply temperature through the hottest month of the yr (January and July, respectively) is similar in Coonawarra and Bordeaux.
The well-known soil of Coonawarra known as the terra rossa. It’s an distinctive purple soil, made up of limestone and about one-third clay. The limestone has weathered for 1000’s of years and has been colored purple by iron oxide. Sue attests to its significance for the standard of the vines. The topsoil is skinny, and half a meter down, there’s a layer of limestone, and additional down, the vine’s roots discover water which permits it to outlive dry seasons.
Cabernet sauvignon is the well-known grape number of Coonawarra. The area makes a few of Australia’s finest. With the reasonable local weather and the free-draining soil, it thrives. 55 % of the winery floor in Coonawarra is cabernet sauvignon. “Cabernet sauvignon is a late ripening selection, so we regularly decide later than the cooler areas that develop pinot noir and chardonnay.”
Cabernet Sauvignon grapes on the vine, copyright BKWine Images
John Riddoch is called after a pioneer in Coonawarra. Within the late 1800s, John Riddoch planted the area’s first vines, principally cabernet sauvignon and shiraz. After being affected by issues within the first half of the twentieth century, Coonawarra acquired a recent begin in 1951 when David Wynn and his father Samuel, a wine service provider, purchased John Riddoch’s outdated deserted property and based Wynn’s Coonawarra Property.
The wine: John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon 2019
The very first thing that involves thoughts is stability. It has a great physique, it’s savoury however not overwhelming, it’s structured with effective tannins, and there’s a stability between all of the elements. Within the aromas, there are black currants, tobacco and darkish chocolate. Sure, Bordeaux undoubtedly involves thoughts.
Wynns Coonawarra Property John Riddoch Restricted Launch Cabernet Sauvignon 2019, copyright BKWine … [+]
It’s scrumptious to drink already. And Sue agrees. “Sure, it may be drunk now; we would like individuals to have the ability to drink it; there are not any harsh tannins. It ages slowly and may have an extended life if you wish to maintain it.”
The freshness can also be fairly outstanding. It has a excessive acidity for purple wine (6,5 g/l), and the alcohol is a pleasing 13,5 %. “For John Riddoch, we use outdated vines, they usually ripen with reasonable sugar degree. 13,5 % alcohol is regular for us though, in fact, it doesn’t at all times add up.”
The selection of barrels is an important part. “As in Bordeaux, we these days use much less new oak to get a greater stability. Often, we use 20-30 % new oak.”
Sue Hodder, head winemaker at Wynns, Coonawarra, used with permission
Gross sales by La Place de Bordeaux
John Riddoch 2019 will probably be launched at La Place de Bordeaux in September. La Place de Bordeaux is the considerably complicated title for round 300 wine retailers (négociants) that promote Bordeaux wines in France and overseas (Bordeaux chateaux principally don’t promote their wines immediately).
2016 was the primary classic of John Riddoch to be offered by this channel which Sue thinks is an ideal technique to distribute the wine in Europe and the remainder of the world. John Riddoch is a well known prime wine in Australia, and it is a technique to make it extra well-known in different nations. Just a few extra non-Bordeaux wines are current at la Place de Bordeaux; not many, although, however the quantity is rising.
Adjustments and challenges
“Local weather change is an enormous problem,” says Sue. “I work intently with our three viticulturists; they’re very acutely aware. We’re doing what we will to reduce the enter, enhance soil construction, drive our tractors much less, and do soil mapping to extra exactly decide the necessity for the separate plots.”
Australia Map, Wynn, Coonawarra
Wynns is licensed sustainable, however Sue will not be satisfied that natural is one of the best factor. She is a bit hesitant about copper spraying. They do get downy and powdery mildew sometimes, nevertheless it doesn’t appear to be an enormous drawback.
All vintages should not good, although, and Sue has seen a particular enchancment in high quality since they invested in an optical sorter, the type you usually see these days on the massive Bordeaux estates. “It makes an enormous distinction; we get an excellent and clear fruit.”
What you don’t see a lot in Bordeaux, although, are screw caps. However Sue makes use of them for John Riddoch, which can shock some individuals. She began utilizing screw caps for John Riddoch to indicate that she believes on this closure and that it’s not one thing that needs to be related to cheap wines. John Riddoch was one of many first premium wines in Australia with a screw cap. She will not be anti-cork although. However she uninterested in damaged corks following an intensive tasting with a number of vintages.
Sue Hodder is a well known winemaker in Australia, and he or she has been working at Wynns for 30 years. She began in 1993, which was really across the time when the export of Australian wines began to extend. She will need to have skilled a terrific many modifications through the years. Sure, completely, she says. “Not least the shoppers have modified.”
30 years in the past, individuals wished highly effective, oaky wines, not the medium physique and the stability that many are searching for right now. “Each John Riddoch and Black Label (one step down from JR) had tighter tannins then. We’ve discovered since. They nonetheless have tannins however extra refreshing fruit. You continue to get heavy wines from Australia. Elements of Australia, Barossa, as an example, are a lot hotter than Coonawarra. However nonetheless, now it’s completely different; there’s extra concentrate on magnificence and refinement. With medium-bodied wines, you are able to do pairing with fish and vegetarian dishes. “
Time for individuals to grasp that Australian reds should not all made for barbecues.
Additionally, Sue provides, a novelty is the making of single winery wine. They add worth to the wine. “Folks need the historical past behind the wine, the tales.”
—Britt Karlsson
