Coonawarra Road Show 2011

[phillisc]

Hi, did anyone get to the Coonawarra Road shows held recently.
I could not get to the one in Adelaide this week.

I am particularly interested in Zema, Bowen, Wynns, Lindermans, Yalumba, Balnaves or any stand outs for that matter.

Cheers Craig.

[markg]

Hey Craig,

It was a good tasting here in Adelaide actually.

Standouts for the night were the current release Petaluma Petaluma, Wynns John Riddoch and the Lindemans St. George and Limestone Ridge. All an absolute cut above the rest (although I did miss out on a few.).

[Michael McNally]

I am having a month off the sauce, but had to take a night off for the Brisbane Roadshow. I still spat though (until about 30 mins to go ). Unfortunately I lost my notes..no not because I was pissed; someone tidied them away while I was talking to someone...so this is off the top of my head.

I was impressed by the Chardonnays in particular. I think the current trend towards a more restrained lighter tighter style suits Coonawarra, though I think Wynns took it too far with theirs - tasted like a blend of Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc.

I think 09 is a very good year for Coonawarra Cabernet - overall not as fleshy and fruit-forward as the 08s but enough to suggest they will consume reasonably well early on and age also.

I purchase Majella and Wynns BL each year if they are up to scratch and the 09s of these are definite "buys" for me. The Majella is a cracker.

Plenty I didn't get to but looking at the poster for the event what I remember:
Brands Laira - pretty good efforts across the board
Hollick - not this year
Katnook - missed this somehow
Leconfield - 09 Cab not in the same class as the excellent 08 but a good drop
Lindemans - three winners though not 100% certain with the St George due to the tannin at this point
Majella - good range though less impressed with the Shiraz than usual
Orlando - the Richmond Grove Limited Release 08 was packed full of flavour and great QPR. The St Hugo looks good but I can't tell for certain with all that tannin. Ditto for the Jacaranda ridge - I am simply not competent with assessing these wines at this stage of their development.
Penley - Thomas Hyland Shiraz and Phoenix Cab both very good and very good QPR. Pinot Noir was good (not the sparkling version though - medicinal cherry flavours urrrrggghhhh). The 08 Chertsey and 07 Reserve Cabernet both excellent.
Petaluma - Mark is right - 4 excellent wines
Redman - Solid wines but I don't do cork
Wynns - Shiraz not as good as the 08 or 09 but not bad (at $10 it will be worth a look). Loved the V&A Lane Shiraz/Cabernet.
Zema - solid effort across the range, but when the highlight is the merlot something's out of whack.

Cheers

Michael

[markg]

>>Loved the V&A Lane Shiraz/Cabernet<<

Damn.. I keep hearing wonderful things about this wine but by the time I got to the table they had run out !

[phillisc]

Thank you Michael and Mark, yes forgot about Petaluma.

I got a 6 pack of both the 09 Wynns V&A's, thought the blend pulled up really short and the shiraz had much greater depth. Yet to taste the famed JR.

Thanks for your thoughts, actually thought you were pissed Michael when you were banging on about whites, have a few vintages of both leconfield and wynns rieslings, but don't indulge in chardonnay, should be grafted over.

Cheers Craig.

[AndrewCowley]

Did anyone taste the Wynns Davis? Wondering if it's worth getting some to cellar alongside the Black Label?

[phillisc]

Andrew, tried in an in-store tasting, good depth lovely chocolate and berry, plumy nose, nice richness and length on the palate, for me a better wine at present than the BL. Certainly worth 6 to put down.
Craig.

[AndrewCowley]

Andrew, tried in an in-store tasting, good depth lovely chocolate and berry, plumy nose, nice richness and length on the palate, for me a better wine at present than the BL. Certainly worth 6 to put down.
Craig.

Thanks, will get some.

[Partagas]

Went to Perth show last night.

Big disappointment was Katnook. Nothing grabbed me there, the current I think 08 cab sav was really terrible IMO. Maybe it was the condition of bottle but what ever it was really it found flat, light, cheap tasting, warm with alcohol and no pizzazz of any kind. It was also first for the night. Prodigy and Odyssey were very average also for me this time round.

Standout outs for me were
Wynns range (Davis was quite good but Michael and Riddoch were both on song)
Petaluma (Coonawarra was very good and should grow well)
Balnaves (Cab Sav outstanding for 08, Tally up there for the night)
Majella (as per usual another great vintage by them and also up there for wine of the night for standard range. Malleea yum)
Jim Barry was interesting
Kicking myself now but right at the end had a great wine, I think it was an 05 but cant remeber the winery or wine (yes long night). Might have been redman or bowen and was a higher range wine.

Didn’t really enjoy the Lindeman’s too much besides the St George.

I think I said it last year and will say again this year, Margaret River is definitely Aus Cab king in my mind and growing. People like Wynns, Majella, Balnaves and Petaluma seem to keep the consistency of good wine making but really dropping off on a couple of others of late. Labels like Katnook and St Hugo to me are now eclipsed in their price range and would rather drink some of the second tier labels from Voyager, Howard Park and alike at much less price. Maybe it’s the overt tannin I’m finding in some Coonawarra cabs these days, it seems over the top with not much else left behind. This was the case in quite a few I tasted. I know that this might be intentional but the more experience I have with age (and aged wines) it tells me that way too much and really intense is not always good. Certainly not good now. I actually don’t mind powerful tannins in wine but just as long as it is not everything. This means it can be powdery and or soft but still allow oak and fruit to tell another story.

Either way great night, great venue and it still beats the hell out most tastings being that it is predominantly Cab Sav.

Sam

[brode]

Also went to the perth one & agree generally with what has been said - the back vintage Katnook (99 cabernet i think) was completely spent as well. I remember Zema had the 05 family selection for tasting - that might be the one you were thinking of perhaps.

Headed down south the next day for a few days off in Margeret River so it was good timing to compare - got to a good 15 or so down there - Woodlands especially had an awesome range of reds - also bought a bit from Cullen & Hay Shed Hill.