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Red soil defines Coonawarra wine
By Tim Pawsey
Coonawarra, Australia-Could there possibly be a downside to the success of brand Australia and Shiraz-its joined at the hip dance partner? Perhaps, although it's not a bad problem to have.
Aussie Shiraz overshadows all. Even if experience shows tasters may eventually move on, some weaned on Shiraz will find their way to Rhone. Not to be outdone, the Aussies have taken a page from the Rhone's play book. Witness the arrival of Shiraz Viognier, of which a handful will pop up at the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival, March 26 to April 1.
Australia, the country that perfected the art of the truck blend, moving grapes hundreds of kilometres from vineyard to crush pad, now talks of specific regions. It even utters the very word that years ago no self-respecting cobber would mention: "terroir."
When it comes to terroir, Coonawarra is king thanks in no small part to the Terra Rosa (or red soil) that defines it. And Cabernet-Australia's "other" red grape-is King of Coonawarra.
Custodian of some of the country's most enduring vineyards, few other wineries can speak with the regionality of Wynns, whose Coonawarra Estate is housed in John Riddoch's original winery that spearheaded this relatively small region in 1891.
By the time the Wynn family purchased the estate in 1951, Riddoch's once thriving Claret business had fallen victim to a grape glut, and passed to new owners, with most fruit distilled. Times were still tough but gradually Wynns built the business, expanded the vineyards and, quite early on, introduced the classic wood cut black label that remains one of the country's most recognized. Not only that, Wynns was the first to legitimately use the term estate, and a ground breaking back label showing the wine's geographic origins.
Rekindling Riddoch's vision, David Wynn focused on "Claret" (as in Cabernet) as a cachet-driven counterpoint to more widely planted Shiraz. Fifty years on, Coonawarra has become synonymous with Cabernet, which thrives in the unique Terra Rosa soil that can vanish with a topographical shift of just a few inches.
The red top soil over porous limestone is perfect for stressing the vines into producing low yields and intense flavours. The cool-climate influence that aids gradual ripeneing comes from the chilly Southern Ocean, just 90 kilometres away-where the company has also established more vineyards, at Robe.
Respected Wynns winemaker Sue Hodder and regional vineyard manager Allen Jenkins are reaping the benefits of their restoration program-as well as from many other advances. For example, each May, Jenkins accurately predicts his yields from the result of dissecting 10,000 buds and counting their miniscule leaves.
We've long held Wynns to be one of Australia's most consistent producers, not only for Cabernet and Shiraz but across the board. Riesling does well here; and the gently chalky, crisp and apple-y 2006 is no exception (BCLS $14.99). Wynns 2005 Shiraz sports a nice, gently meaty nose, plus juicy up front black fruit with some lingering mid-palate spice (BCLS $20.99). But it's the 2004 Black Label Cab that catches our attention, with a little mint on the nose, luscious, chewy and medium bodied with nicely integrated tannins-one of the best most affordable expressions of Aussie Cabs (BCLS $21.99).
These are also perfect wines for cellaring, as we discovered when we were lucky enough to taste the still remarkably vibrant John Riddoch '82 Cab; and the well-balanced '91 Black Label Cab, with lively black current, mint and cedar notes wrapped in juicy acidity, and still showing remarkable youth. Makes us want to get serious about cellaring all over again.
Find a good cross section of Wynns at the wine festival-including the 2000 John Riddoch Cab and 2000 "Michael" Shiraz-and look for some of our tasting room picks here next week.
published on 03/16/2007
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