9 minute read
Coonawarra - To Cabernet and beyond!
THERE IS MUCH MORE TO COONAWARRA THAN JUST CABERNET SAUVIGNON AND EXPORT MARKETS, AS ANDREW GRAHAM DISCOVERS.
From the outside, Coonawarra seems like just another sleepy Australian town. It’s a place that people drive through on the way to somewhere else, with vines seen out the window en route to Mount Gambier or Adelaide.
If you stop and talk to producers, however, you can feel that Coonawarra is starting to hum. Fuelled by a Chinese market that loves classic Australian red wine, the region is selling all the Cabernet Sauvignon they can get their hands on.
Katnook Estate Stables & Vineyard.
HAIL TO THE KING
It’s not always recognised, but Coonawarra’s wine history dates all the way back to the 1890s.
Wine pioneer John Riddoch arrived in the area back in 1961, making his money via a trading post in the goldfields. Motivated to establish Coonawarra as a regional agricultural centre, he originally planted 140 acres of vines and eventually crafted his first vintage in 1895. Riddoch famously kicked off what became the Wynns Coonawarra Estate winery, with the distinctive gabled building crafted in 1896.
That same year Riddoch made his wine in the ‘woolshed’ building that is now the barrel hall of Katnook Estate and later gave Redman Wines founder Bill Redman a job.
But Riddoch’s real legacy is over 350 acres of vineyards planted to the varieties he found ideally suited to the area, including Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz, with small plots of Pinot Noir and Malbec.
Katnook Estate Historic Buildings.
Despite the vineyards thus having a focus on several different varieties, one grape has gone on to rule the rest – Cabernet Sauvignon.
Coonawarra has become synonymous with Cabernet Sauvignon, to the point where the region has just held Australia’s third ever Cabernet Symposium. Cabernet is king.
It’s a popularity that extends from producer to consumer, as Katnook Marketing Manager Annelie Mitchell explains.
“Clearly for Coonawarra and the majority of the wine drinking world, Cabernet is king,” she said.
It’s a sentiment echoed across the region, and Steven Raidis of Raidis Estate sees that first hand.
“The big demand domestically and internationally is Cabernet from Coonawarra,” he said.
“We could sell two to one of Cabernet Sauvignon versus all other varieties.”
External Katnook Cellar Door.
Over at Wynns Coonawarra Estate, Cabernet is more important than ever. Not only is the winery the region’s largest producer, but Wynns also has devoted the most resources to the grape (in both vineyard and winery) with a particular focus on clones and tannin development.
Indeed Wynnsday is just around the corner (as ever, the first Wednesday in August), and this year sees a return of some old favourites, with the return of the John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon and a wine from the Messenger vineyard.
Wynns Senior Winemaker, Sue Hodder believes the 2018 Wynnsday release is noteworthy on all levels.
“Firstly, we see a return of John Riddoch Cabernet from the 2015 vintage. Our clear philosophy is that we only release this Langtons classified ‘Exceptional’ wine in high quality vintages (and) from the very best parcels. The 2015 John Riddoch epitomises these values,” she said.
“Secondly, we have a lot of new insights, stories and findings after tasting 60 vintages of the Wynns Black Label Cabernet in July of 2017. The 2016 is a great example of this historic label in a new era.”
HERE COMES THE QUEEN
If Cabernet is the king of Coonawarra, then surely Shiraz is the queen.
As Katnook’s Mitchell notes, Coonawarra Shiraz has a real following too.
“Thanks to an Australian obsession with Shiraz, this varietal also does well, especially for those looking for a cooler climate style compared to some other South Australian wine regions,” she said.
Tim Heath, Winemaker, Katnook Estate.
For Raidis, Shiraz is the sleeping giant. “We don’t have enough Shiraz,” he said. “Of all the grapes in Coonawarra, Shiraz is one of the hardest to source more fruit.” But it’s a peculiar sort of popularity too. “Shiraz sells really well at cellar door, where people love the cool climate peppery style... but elsewhere; it’s a surprisingly harder sell.” For Penley Estate, Shiraz represents the future. In 2015 Ang and Bec Tolley took over Penley from brother Kym, effectively reinventing this established winery in the process. The impressively packaged Wild Ferment Shiraz has been one of the new releases unleashed as part of the makeover, selling out fast.
Penley’s Global Sales Manager Colm Mooney explains more: “We firmly believe that Coonawarra can be the home of more contemporary styles as well as serious Cabernet. “We are using more small batch fermenters, larger format oak, natural fermentation and this year we are experimenting with a concrete egg.”
BEYOND THE NORM
Penley isn’t alone in the push to varieties beyond Cabernet Sauvignon.
Indeed the pull of the fastest growing category in the wine industry has lured a few winemakers to go beyond their usual mode too, as Dan Redman of Redman Wines explains.
“We have couple of projects on the go this year including a very limited release rosé,” he said.
“We jumped on the bandwagon and figured if no one likes it we can drink it ourselves.”
Katnook cellar door tasting.
For Leconfield, that pull has also encouraged the winery to produce the first ever Leconfield rosé, using the estate’s old vine Merlot to create a crisp, salmon coloured style.
Actually, Merlot has proved a focal point at Leconfield, with a pair of new clones (R8 and Q45-14) showing promise.
Recent success has come for a variety usually relegated to the ‘Best Supporting Actor’ role too with the 2016 Leconfield Petit Verdot winning two trophies, and the 2017 vintage just about to be released. The future, however, could come from another bridesmaid variety, with the estate’s 36-year-old Cabernet Franc vines now harnessed into a varietal wine that is wonderfully approachable. Or indeed the venerable Leconfield Old Vine Riesling, which continues to deliver surprisingly serious drinking.
Crossing back to Katnook too and amongst the swag of recent releases there is a varietal Tannat and Petit Verdot, with plantings of Malbec, Tempranillo and Pinot Grigio for the future.
Of course, white wines are anything but a natural choice in Coonawarra, with most winemakers relegating whites to an ‘afterthought’. All of which makes Steven Raidis’ focus on Pinot Gris as a hero variety seem crazy.
But Raidis has realised that textural Gris can work, with an array of releases exploring skin contact and oak maturation. This year sees a new PG Project Oak 2016 that involved a puncheon of Pinot Gris fermented in barrel and matured for 18 months on lees.
Leconfield winery at night.
THE FUTURE COONAWARRA STYLE
Despite this move towards alternate varieties, the reality is that Cabernet and Cabernetbased blends are ‘still the one’ – to borrow a botched Channel Nine catchphrase, with worldwide appeal. Sam Brand of Jim Brand Wines knows it well.
Brand has taken over the family business (of sorts) and found great success internationally, particularly in the Chinese market. But no matter what happens, Coonawarra’s Cabernet focus is inescapable.
“Aside from the obvious interest from China, we have had a lot of interest from the US asking for Coonawarra wines directly, which is a welcome change,” he said.
“Cabernet will be always the first sell to fit the niche on agents’ portfolio or in stores.”
In domestic retail it’s a similar sentiment, as Bert Werden of WineStar explains.
“As a wine lover I have seen some fine examples of Shiraz and Merlot off Coonawarra’s terra rossa as well as Riesling and Chardonnay,” he said.
“From a retail or accountants view point it is Cabernet then daylight. Fish where the fish are.”
Perhaps the answer to what’s next is not actually about different grapes but a different style.
Brand puts it well: “I don’t think the answer is a raft of new labels and/or funky varietals to chase the trends.
Leconfield Coonawarra Vineyards.
“There is a lot of work being done to make the existing wines more accessible and perhaps more palatable earlier.”
Daniel Redman and Tim Bailey (Leconfield), for example, last year released a wine under the Punch Down Boys label that typifies what could be the future of Coonawarra reds.
A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon with some whole bunch Shiraz and Cabernet Franc, it was deliberately released early to capture a lively, more approachable style of Coonawarra red. It has been well received too, as Redman explains. “Feedback has been great,” he said. “It is a lot of fun making wine with your mate (Tim Bailey) and not taking yourselves too seriously.”
Raidis is also tinkering with style too. He’s crafted a wine called ‘The Red Project 2017’ featuring co-fermented Cabernet, Shiraz and Merlot matured in used Russian oak and built in a style that Raidis describes as a “leaner style with a great acid line that drives the wine”.
Such juicier, less sturdy wines might not necessarily be the future of Coonawarra, however, as Redman notes: “The short answer is no (approachable wines aren’t the future).
“The wines out of 2017 aren’t super structured so it was the perfect year to make an early release minimal intervention wine.
“But if this is a way to help people start slurping Cabernet that is a good thing.”
Leconfield cellar door.
NAILING THE CABERNET BRIEF
Indeed for many producers, the future isn’t about early release/easy drinking wines but instead about aiming for the stars and making the best wine possible.
Redman, for example, is just about to release a super-premium red called the William Wilson (in homage of the Coonawarra founder) made in collaboration with Balnaves of Coonawarra. Similarly, Leconfield is also about to unveil the 2014 Leconfield ‘The Sydney’ Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.
Natalie Cleghorn, the Yalumba Coonawarra winemaker behind the Menzies Cabernet Sauvignon, believes that if you nail the brief, even the most serious wines can be great drinks from the start.
“In my opinion, the best Coonawarra Cabernets are structured, expressive with sublime tannins,” she said.
“These wines can be enjoyed upon release and into maturity.”
Paul Gordonon harvester at Leconfield vineyard.
Historically the approach to viticulture in Coonawarra has been almost archaic – this is the home of minimal pruning after all. But that is changing rapidly, with all elements of the process examined, as Cleghorn explains.
“The picking window (for example) is an important step.
“Coonawarra can often expresses itself in a ‘green/eucalypt’ spectrum, while you do not want generic overripe Cabernet, I am mindful of ensuring that I pick when we are just out of this ‘green’ window but still with a lovely crunch of balanced acidity.
“Finding the right balance of fruit and tannins is imperative once in the winery. Depending on what the growing season has given, you need to be very mindful of not overworking or on the flip side, not underworking the extraction.”
Leconfield barrels, Coonawarra.
CHANGING FACES
Finally, there is a common thread among the winemakers pushing the Coonawarra agenda – and it is generational change. Winemakers like Steven Raidis, Daniel Redman, Tim Bailey and Sam Brand are at the forefront of the Coonawarra evolution and it’s no surprise that all represent the next generation of producers. As Brand explains, it’s an exciting time. “Growing up in Coonawarra it’s great to see the next generation making their presence felt and influencing the direction of the marketing and as a whole just trying to make Coonawarra more accessible,” he said.
“The region really does have a lot to offer.”
