Wynns Coonawarra Estate John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon vertical tasting 10 September 2026

[Waiters Friend]

G’day

A generous friend decided to present a vertical tasting of Wynns John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon as his birthday celebration. We all got the presents …..

Many of you will know that the Wynns John Riddoch was named after the founder of Wynns (in 1891) in Coonawarra, and the first JR was made in 1982 by John Wade (who then went on to establish Howard Park in the Great Southern region of WA in 1986). Our friend (I’ll call him Paul, as that’s his name), has been collecting Wynns Black Label and John Riddochs for at least 25 years, and some of the wines shown have been in his possession for that period.

The venue was Lulu’s Little Bistro in Perth, and ten of us assembled for what promised to be an extensive look at JRs over 40 years, back to the original 1982 vintage. The emphasis was on older vintages over the more recent ones. Wines were double decanted immediately before service, tasted (mostly) from youngest to oldest. There were a couple of ‘ring ins’ too, just to add to the mix.

Wynns Coonawarra Estate John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon 2021: Purple black in colour and quite dense in the glass. The nose offers bright black currant, cassis, cedary oak, mocha / coffee grounds, and just a touch of the classic Coonawarra mint. There’s more cassis and blackcurrant on the palate, with relatively soft tannins, balancing acid and a long finish. At this stage, way too young – it’s tight and needs time to evolve.

Wynns Coonawarra Estate John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon 2016: Deep purple colour. There’s more mint on the nose than on the 202. The blackberry fruit is also substantial, and sits well alongside some cedary oak. The palate shows chocolate, more mint or eucalypt, and dark berries. Tannins are moderately grippy and the acid again balanced the wine well. Long finish. Also a little too young and still evolving.

Wynns Coonawarra Estate John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon 2010: Deep purple colour. Cedary oak, mocha, black olives, blackberry ,with a touch of mint and some spices on the nose. A more complex palate, with beef stock, chocolate, and some tangy red fruits starting to mix in with the darker fruits. Fine grippy tannins and a very long finish. Well regarded by the group.

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Wynns Coonawarra Estate John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon 2008: Purple colour. Blackberry and developing blackcurrant on the nose, with cedary oak, mocha, a little mint, vanilla and spices. The palate shows some red fruits in among the dark fruits (similar to the 2010, but more so),. Grippy tannins and noticeable acid. Powerful and very long finish. Highly rated by the group.

Wynns Coonawarra Estate Black Label Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2004: Purple colour. A savoury nose, with black olive, slightly less fruit than previous wines, tomato leaf and somewhat dusty. There’s raspberry and cranberry on the palate with some Cherry Ripe. Tannins are well integrated. Not surprisingly, less intense than the JRs and seems further developed. Medium to long finish.

Wynns Coonawarra Estate John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon 1998: Purple colour. A spicy nose, with chocolate and mint, and diminished fruit. TCA noted. There’s leather and secondary development, and it possibly would have been excellent if not corked.

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Wynns Coonawarra Estate John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon 1994: Purple colour. There’s red and black berry fruits on the nose, some mocha, just a touch of mint and vanilla / coconut oak. There’s more oak and red fruits on the palate, with chocolate and mocha. Tannins are well integrated, with soft supporting acid and this provides a slippery mouthfeel. Very long finish and highly rated.

Wynns Coonawarra Estate John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon 1990: Heavily corked. Damn!

Wynns Coonawarra Estate John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon 1988: Purple colour. I note that the colour did not markedly vary or lighten in the JRs as they got older. Coffee, tobacco, menthol, coconut, and more red fruits than dark fruits on the nose. Juicy red and dark berries on the palate, with good acidity, integrating tannins, and a medium to long finish. Slightly less intense and powerful than some other JRs.

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We then varied the tasting with three Wynns wines from 1991, served blind.

Wynns Coonawarra Estate Centenary Shiraz Cabernet 1991: A powerful nose of red and dark fruits, coconut and vanilla oak, and some savoury notes. Very sweet fruited palate with plums and berries, all the way through to the back palate – surprising for a 35-year-old wine. Slightly grippy tannins, balancing acid, a touch of leather, and a long finish. Great intensity and surprising freshness alongside tertiary notes. Well regarded by the group.

Wynns Coonawarra Estate Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon 1991: Stale, and with a nose that reminded me of soda water. Brett? Or the cork gods have struck again?

Wynns Coonawarra Estate John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon 1991: Spicy oak, lots of sweet developed fruits and some savoury notes. The palate showed plush red fruits, dark berries as well, some leather and tertiary characters, and a long finish. Similar to the Centenary in power and freshness, and similarly well regarded.

The next bracket was a set of three from the 1980s. Fortunately, all sound:

Wynns Coonawarra Estate John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon 1986: The nose shows leather, mint, spicy oak, desiccated coconut, mocha and raspberry. There’s Cherry Ripe, raspberry and more spicy oak on the palate, with tertiary characters, integrated tannins and enough acid to provide some freshness. Long finish.

Wynns Coonawarra Estate John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon 1985: Similar to the 1986, with leather, mint and spicy oak, red berries and blackberries on the nose. The palate shows juicy red fruits, leather chocolate, coffee and mint. Fine grippy tannins with tertiary development, and freshening acid. Long finish.

Wynns Coonawarra Estate John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon 1984: The nose opens with a whiff of VA. There’s desiccated coconut, mint and spicy notes, alongside developed berry fruits. There’s juicy red fruits on the palate (similar to 1985) and the palate overall is reminiscent of the 1985, although with less intensity.

We then finished with the original 1982 JR, alongside a couple of ring ins (more of Paul’s generosity). These were served blind also.

Wolf Blass ‘Black Label’ Cabernet Shiraz 1986. Loads of sweet (developed) fruits on the powerful nose, with coconut and vanilla oak. Leather and tangy red fruits on the voluminous palate. Tertiary characters and a little mocha. Huge wine and holding up well for 40 years of age.

Chateau Palmer 1983 (Bordeaux, France): A savoury nose, with cedary oak, and developed red fruits. The palate reminds me of a Chesterfield sofa. Fruits are sitting in the background. Medium to long finish. Notes were getting a little thin by this stage!

Wynns Coonawarra Estate John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon 1982: The cork gods struck yet again! Damn!

One observation made over the night was the lower alcohol on the earliest wines. The 1984, for example, clocked in at 11.2% alcohol, while 13.5% is more likely these days. This was the winemaking style at the time, and it was interesting to see how well some of the much older wines held up.

Wine of the night was the Wynns Coonawarra Estate John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon 2008.

A wonderful tasting, with Lulu’s food and service up to their usual high standard, and excellent company. Profound thanks to Paul for choosing this way to celebrate his birthday.

Cheers
Allan

[Waiters Friend]

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[GraemeG]

Gosh. Some tasting. Wow. Think I've had most JRs over the years, but never in a single run. (Although, checking my notes, I must say I'm a bit light on for the last 15 years or so!) I'm a touch ambivalent about the label, to be honest. Expectations always high - basically the best fruit from the whole region, right, given Wynns own most of the best vineyards? And yet, so often just falls marginally short of my expectations. OTOH, if people genuinely preferred it to something so lauded (& costly) as 83 Palmer, well, that's got to say something. Although, I guess by world standards, it's never been that expensive a wine either, so allowances could be made.

[mjs]

Great tasting, great to see them all lined up. Pity about the cork issues, you seemed to have higher strike rate than what my experience has been.

I think I've had most if not all vintages of JR (and BL) being a rusted on Coonawarra-phile with Wynns as my special subject. So, just a couple of points of clarification. John Riddoch did not found the business of Wynns as such, he founded the Penola Fruit Colony which became the Coonawarra Fruit Colony, selling off blocks of land to prospective farmers (blockers). He built the stately homestead Yallum Park , west of Penola and also built the gabled winery called Chateau Comaum, that we know today as Wynns. Vines were planted in the late 1890's. He died in 1901 and after that the colony struggled. Samuel Wynn and his son David, wine makers from Melbourne bought the winery in 1951 and renamed it Wynns Coonawarra Estate. What was to become Wynns Black label Cabernet was first vintaged in 1954 (see my Avatar for a pic of the label). In 1955 they made an outstanding shiraz, which they called Michael (after David's son). The rest as they say, is history.

[Waiters Friend]

Great tasting, great to see them all lined up. Pity about the cork issues, you seemed to have higher strike rate than what my experience has been.

I think I've had most if not all vintages of JR (and BL) being a rusted on Coonawarra-phile with Wynns as my special subject. So, just a couple of points of clarification. John Riddoch did not found the business of Wynns as such, he founded the Penola Fruit Colony which became the Coonawarra Fruit Colony, selling off blocks of land to prospective farmers (blockers). He built the stately homestead Yallum Park , west of Penola and also built the gabled winery called Chateau Comaum, that we know today as Wynns. Vines were planted in the late 1890's. He died in 1901 and after that the colony struggled. Samuel Wynn and his son David, wine makers from Melbourne bought the winery in 1951 and renamed it Wynns Coonawarra Estate. What was to become Wynns Black label Cabernet was first vintaged in 1954 (see my Avatar for a pic of the label). In 1955 they made an outstanding shiraz, which they called Michael (after David's son). The rest as they say, is history.

G'day mjs and thanks for the clarification. Just for the record (and in case he reads this) our well-informed host Paul gave us an almost identical factual introduction on the night. I omitted much of this from my write-up in the interests of brevity.

Cheers
Allan

[I Love Shiraz]

Wow, that is an impressive Wynns tasting.

Bad luck that that 1982 John Riddoch was corked. That was our wine of the night when we had a Wynns tasting in late June with Sue Hodder.

[mjs]

Just coincidentally, had an '87 JR last night with phillisc and wives (courtesy of phillisc). Was outstanding in amongst some tough competition.