Last week I was down in Coonawarra to MC the annual Coonawarra Vignerons Cup race meeting at Penola Racecourse, a beautiful country racetrack nested right among the vineyards on the prime strip of Terra Rossa soil.
Whilst there I did a huge tasting that we’ll post shortly, and I also had a meal with some of the local winemakers covering a couple of generations. These nights are legendary and there are always a couple of really interesting bottles pulled out; this night was no exception.
The best bottle of the night, which could have been picked from a mile away, was the famous 1982 Wynns John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon, the first vintage made of this now established top-tier Wynns cabernet. It was a great bottle (brought along by winemaker Pete Bissell from the Balnaves cellar) and made for plenty of conversation.
The wine has established legend status for its resilience across its more than 30-year life, and is also recognized for its superior depth, power and precision. It was made in response to a trend that emerged in the region from roughly 1979-81 in which many winemakers (Brian Croser and Geoff Merrill among them) were harvesting early and going for a super leafy style.
Wynns chief winemaker John Wade, who was working with Pam Dunsford and Mike Farmilo as well as Brian Walsh at the time, decided in the heat of a very good 1982 vintage to go for riper flavors and buck the emerging trend of the time. The rest, as they say, is history.
This bottle showed superb dark tobacco notes, gently sweet as well, with a dried red fruit note too. There were still decidedly leafy notes on offer as well as dried herbs, with a fresh earthy edge and gentle brick mortar savoury aromas, as well as cedar.
The palate was seamless and served up a very supple yet crisply defined tannin structure, really fine, with red cherry fruits, a cedary edge and nut-ripe tannin flavor through the finish. The polished ripe tannins, still promising plenty of life, showed great depth and delivered a long and lively finish.
Great wine. Click for the note and score.
Contributing Editor Nick Stock is a renowned Australian wine writer, author, presenter and filmmaker who reports on his worldwide wine tasting experiences for JamesSuckling.com.
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