Katnook Sale and Katnook Cabernet 2001 note

[JDSJDS]

I opened this wine last night in 'honour' of the sale of Katnook to Accolade. It seems Katnook will go the way of wineries like Leasingham, with its vineyards providing premium grapes for other Accolade brands. Sad to see another winery be engulfed like this.

[url]https://www.therealreview.com/2020/09/14/kat ... ade-wines/[/url]

My last bottle of this wine, bought many years ago on sale. Even though Katnook suggested a 8-12 year lifespan, after 19 years it is still going strong, though likely at plateau. Classic Coonawarra cabernet nose, with ripe blackfruit and oak notes. The medium to full bodied palate is quite smooth, with few remaining tannins. There is still a healthy concentration of fruit, again almost all blackfruits with the oak still giving off tar, vanilla and leather notes; no green notes at all. Not the most complex wine, but still a tasty, old school cabernet. I'd drink up fairly soon (A-).

[paulf]

It will be interesting to see what Accolade do with it, but I will note that Accolade didn't have a Coonawarra Cellar door presence before this purchase, so if that is important to them maybe they won't mess with it too much.
I also agree with Huon Hooke's statement that Katnook had been under performing in recent years, even prior to the untimely death of Wayne Stehbens.