Bordeaux vs Coonawarra: 1994 Chateau Leoville Poyferre vs 1994 Petaluma Coonawarra Cabernet

Two 21 year old Cabernet blends, courtesy of my aunty’s cellar.

The first, the Leoville Poyferre, is a Second Growth from the Saint-Julien commune in Bordeaux. Having been established in 1840, the estate has been through some peaks and troughs as might be expected, however, the past few decades have seen a resurgence in its reputation and the quality of wine produced. The second wine, the Petaluma Coonawarra has been one of Australia’s more highly regarded Cabernet blends over a few decades now. Production for this wine began in 1979.

When the Red and Brown clans got together recently, we decided to take these two wines of pedigree head to head. They are obviously worthy of enjoyment and contemplation without competition or reference to any other wine, but I still find comparative tastings like this highly enjoyable and revealing.

Both wines had excellent quality, long corks that happily had done their jobs, with both wines smelling great in the decanter from the get go. We then proceeded to drink both bottles over the course of a few hours, with some slow cooked lamb the accompaniment.

1994 Petaluma Coonawarra -  At 21 years of age this has retained an impressive level of primary fruit that is present from the tip of the tongue through to the long finish. Blackcurrant mainly. Adding savoury complexity are notes of red earth and black olive. There’s a bit of regional mint/eucalypt but it’s in no way dominant and plays its part in a complex whole. What’s really impressive moreover, are the prominent tannins that really help shape and finish off the wine. There was a little bit left in the bottle on day 2 and it continued to drink impressively well. It’s in a real sweet spot now where it offers a great aged Cabernet drinking experience, but still has the stuffing to drink well over the next 5-10 years. 94 points

1994 Chateau Leoville Poyferre – What enthrals me with this wine is the tightrope it walks between power and elegance. The entry onto the palate is supple and subtle before building to great mid palate intensity, which then tapers into a focused and savoury finish. It's the kind of structure that marks it out as a great wine. Classic cassis and cigar box flavours. Gravel is also a signature, both in terms of the bouquet as well gravelly minerality through the long finish. Fantastic to drink and wonderful to see it weigh in at only 12.5% alcohol. It's a wine that ultimately could only be Bordeaux and would never be confused as anything else.  As with the Petaluma, it gives great enjoyment now but will age over the next decade without a second thought. 96 points

In the end the Bordeaux was the preferred wine on the night, showing a class that is rare in the world of wine. That being said the Petaluma is a great wine in its own right and is testament to the ageworthiness and quality of the marque and Coonawarra Cabernet more generally.

1968 Wynns Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon (Coonawarra)

1968 was not exactly a dull year. Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy were both assassinated. The Tet offensive shattered the perceptions of many about the conflict in Vietnam. Massive student protests rolled through Western Europe. The Soviets invaded Czechoslovakia. Things in Australia were a little less drama-filled, though apparently the Postmaster-General decreased the number of mail deliveries per day from two to one.

At the same time, in a remote pocket of South Australia, Wynns were making their 15^th vintage of their cabernet sauvignon. Fast forward to today and Wynns have released 55 vintages of the Black Label, and it has become in that time one of Australia’s great wines.

This bottle was a random purchase from my offsite cellar provider. A punt on a piece of tree bark having kept a wine that almost always cellars well beyond initial expectations.

The ullage levels were mid-high shoulder which is pretty good for a 45 year old wine. Still at that age it is very much a lottery, and I thought it’s opening would reveal either a ruined offering or something quite exceptional. As it turned out it took a kind of middle road, in that what evolved in the glass was simply a lovely aged Cabernet. It smelt and tasted aged, but I would have never have picked it for a 45 year old wine. There was still plenty of fruit, and cork permitting, there’s no reason it wouldn’t continue to live for a while yet.

Beautiful blackcurrant, old furniture mustiness, mint, and a lovely earthiness. Soft and supple, the flavours are carried by some tannin that’s still holding in there and some nice acidity as well.  The finish actually lengthened as it opened up in the glass, giving that extra dimension of enjoyment. Four of us finished the bottle in good time with slow cooked lamb-shanks as the match. Remarkable that such a humble wine has aged so well and it bodes well for recent vintages of this wine that are now under screwcap.  Love my Wynns.

1993 Petaluma Coonawarra Cabernet Merlot (Coonawarra)

This was courtesy of my aunty and uncle in Canberra, while I was down there last week. They have a fantastic cellar, which includes Semillons and Rieslings from the 70s. While there we opened a ’76 Leo Buring Riesling, but sadly, while drinkable, it was well past its best.

The 1993 Petaluma Coonawarra, however, is certainly not past it, and indeed is drinking very well right now. At twenty years of age there’s still plenty of beautiful blackcurrant fruit, along with sweet cedar, and just a hint of eucalypt. There’s a lovely earthiness that runs its length and sees it finish long and savoury. The acidity and tannins are there if you go looking for them, but they are perfectly folded into the wine at this stage. I’d suggest it’s at its peak now, though it should still age gracefully over the next 5-10 years, cork permitting. Simply put it’s a lovely aged Coonawarra Cabernet and the kind of wine I love drinking.

Rated:

 

 

 

Drink: 2013-2018

Website: www.petaluma.com.au

 

 

 

Red

2006 Wynns Cabernet Shiraz Merlot (Coonawarra)

Mr Red Stripe. As a wine that can often be picked up for about $10-12, it is a fantastic value proposition in its better years. 2006 is one of those vintages.

On night 1 it was a bit stinky and reductive, but by day 2 this had blown off and the wine came together nicely. Juicy blackcurrant and plum is complemented by some nice regional mint and spice, and a hint of herbal bitterness. The oak is nicely integrated and dusty tannins frame the wine nicely. Lovely medium bodied Coonawarra drinking. It will age nicely for the next 5 years, and possibly well beyond.





Rated:

ABV: 14%
Closure: Screwcap
Website: http://www.wynns.com.au/


Red

Aged Cabernet Dinner

It was the middle of winter, and Brown and some other good friends were over at our place for dinner, so it was time to pull out some big guns. Aged Cabernet/Bordeaux blends that is.

The four wines that Brown and I pulled from their cool places in the cellar were -

2001 Wynns Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon (Coonawarra, $30)
2001 Domaine A Cabernet Sauvignon (Tasmania, $90)
2001 Chateau Franc Mayne (St Emilion, Bordeaux, $75)
2002 Houghton Jack Mann Cabernet Sauvignon (Great Southern, $105)

At a decade or so old, we thought it would be a great time to see how these 4 wines were travelling. Initially we tasted blind. Tasting through the four wines the Wynns was my favourite in the blind line up showing beautiful fruit and nice tannins, while the Domaine A was also impressive in a more savoury manor. The Chateau Franc Mayne came across as a bit dilute in comparison, while the Jack Mann was initially quite subdued.

We then consumed the wines over dinner, during which time the Jack Mann and Franc Mayne opened up and fleshed out a touch, however, by the end of the dinner the Wynns and Domaine A were still the stand outs. Then a funny thing happened . . . the dinner finished and there was still plenty of wine left in each bottle! Admittedly only 3 of the 6 people were really drinking any great amount (and Champagne and Port bookended the dinner), but in any case I think it must be a sign of us slowing down. The upside was I was then able to taste the 4 wines at my leisure over the next few days, which ended up being a very good thing. While the tasting on the night would have had me writing about at least two very good wines, the chance to taste over a few days has me proclaiming 3 great wines. Below are my notes from this extended tasting -

2001 Wynns Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon – This is a wine that I buy every year regardless of the vintage and critic reviews. Factoring in history, cellarability and importantly price, could this be Australia’s greatest wine? A lovely ripe, long Cabernet. Beautiful blackcurrant fruit, mint, and earthiness. It’s still nice and tannic, and over the course of 4 nights lengthened through the finish and became increasingly savoury. Super wine and with careful cellaring and cork permitting I see no reason why this won’t be even better in 5-10 years. 4.5 Stars

2001 Domaine A Cabernet Sauvignon – An identifiably more savoury wine than the Wynns and indeed very Bordeaux-like. The nose is quite seductive, smelling like an old chesterfield complimented by lovely blackcurrant. Beautiful ripe fruit on the front palate is soon joined by leafiness, earthiness, spice and sea salt, all providing a wonderful sense of texture through a long savoury finish. Genuine complexity. Fine, yet persistent tannins frame the wine beautifully. Once again this wine drunk well and improved over 4 nights. 4.5 Stars

2001 Chateau Franc Mayne – As a wine that is 90% Merlot and 10% Cab Franc, it would obviously seem a bit like the odd one out in this line up, but it nevertheless had quite a lot in common with the Domaine A. While this wine fleshed out with more air, it remained the lightest of the 4 wines. There’s some nice blackberry fruit but the wine is predominantly savoury, with some Cab Franc grassiness and sea salt coming through on the palate. Throw in some drying tannin and this is a wine that definitely needs food to be seen at its best. Nice wine. 3.5 Stars

2002 Houghton Jack Mann Cabernet Sauvignon – If this tasting over 4 nights was a horse race, then the Jack Mann would have been very slow out of the gates and looking rather disinterested initially. Mid race it would have picked up the pace to be in contention, before storming home in the final straight to just pip the Domaine A and Wynns at the post. This is superb Cabernet, and very much reminds me of other Jack Mann’s that I have had. It has a dusty, leafy nose of berries, black olive and lovely oak. The palate is tannic, powerful and just beginning to demonstrate more secondary, savoury characters. Plush fruit gives way to some nice leafiness and earthiness, before delivering a long, drying tannic finish. Needs another 10 years and who knows how long it will go after that. 4.5 Stars


This tasting provided a fantastic vignette into age-worthy Australian Cabernet. All three Australians are wines of character and terroir. The Domain A and Jack Mann are expensive, but given both the complexity and ageability on offer they can more than justify their price tags. On the other hand if budget is a consideration then on any value for money basis the Wynns Black Label is as good a Cabernet as this country has.


Red