REGION:
Coonawarra, 2009
VITICULTURE & WINEMAKING:
We have long nurtured our growers in this outpost of cool climate winemaking, this season the Vineyard Select came from the transitional soils to the east of Coonawarra, off V&A Lane. The transitional soils typically produce aromatic wines of depth and complexity and this wine is no exception. Grown in an ‘Australian sprawl’, the fruit shows off the elegant vibrancy of Coonawarra and its signature variety - Cabernet Sauvignon.
2009 was an overall coolish year with very little rain, the drought continued. It was a steady growing season without many temperature extremes, enabling the vines to yield early ripening uniformly excellent fruit. Good weather during flowering lead to average set and a standard crop level. Intense concentration of the fresh blackcurrant flavours in the berry followed through in the wines.
Picked at night and in the cool of the Coonawarra Autumn, the grapes were transferred to our winery in Renmark, where we hand reared the wines over 6 weeks on skins. Hand plunging, cool preferment maceration and a reliance on indigenous years, coupled with long post ferment maceration on skins followed the traditional techniques more readily found in Bordeaux. Once pressed the wine spent 18 months in French oak barrels after which each barrel was selected for the finished blend on its own merits. Estate Bottled in our BRC accredited bottling hall.
WINEMAKERS' NOTES:
Deep blue black this is a robust wine. Blackcurrant, mint and cedar on the nose reinforced on the palate with pencil box flavours and eucalyptus. This medium bodied aromatic wine shows the typical Coonawarra full flavoured finish.
TECHNICAL:
Varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon
Alcohol: 14% Alc/Vol
Total Acidity: 6.6 g/L
Residual Sugar: < 1.2 g/L
James Halliday Aust. Wine Companion 2012 Edition - 89 Points 4 Stars
Western Suburbs Weekly - 21.12.10 - John Jens - 18 Points
Adelaide Advertiser - Top 100 Wines - 10.11.10 - 93 Points
“All the big gun winemaking you can muster into a bottle - indigenous yeast, small barrel maturation with regional highlights of black currant and berry fruits, mint, the expected grab of tannin and classy mouth-filling flavours.”
Quaff 2011 - Peter Forrestal - Great value Red wines over $15
"This Coonawarra cabernet shows that, not only can Angove produce bloody good quality wines, when they push the boundaries of price, they can make classy premium wines too. There are lifted ripe, sweet fruit aromas, soft smooth texture, redcurrant jube and cassis flavours, tight structure and a firm dry finish."
Winestate Magazine - Vol 33 Issue 4 - July/August 2010 - 3 Stars
"Lovely menthol lift to the nose, with more menthol mingling with red berries on the palate."
The Age - Jenny Port - Top 8 SA Wines- 22.06.10
"This is the charming side of Coonawarra cab, where the scales are tipped more in favour of fruit than tannin and it's all about attractive, dusty blackberry fruit."
Western Suburbs Weekly - John Jens - 01.06.10 - 18 Points also appeared in the Joondalup Weekender
'It is rich, fruit sweet, generous and soft and has silky vanilla tannins that have been textured by clever winemaking. This underpriced wine has heaps of appealing Cabernet flavours. In any line-up of half a dozen Cabernets that you could organise for your friends, this is the wine that will turn out to be the 'crowd pleaser'.
Newcastle Herald - 02.06.10 - 4.5 Stars
'This was my wine of the night at the recent Angove degustation dinner at Wickham's Albion Hotel and is terrific value. The wine is garnet-hued and cassis and herb scents leap out of the glass. Lovely, profound blackberry flavour flows onto the front of the palate and mint, dark chocolate and mocha coffee fruit elements meld with vanillin oak on the middle palate. Earthy tannins come through at the finish.'
Big Red Wine Book - Campbell Mattinson and Gary Walsh - 2010/11 Edition
5 Stars - 90 Points
'Not quite sure how Angove do it, but they keep producing the goods. There's nothing pretentious or even overly ambitious about this wine - it's just excellent medium bodied drinking. It's hard not to like it. It rolls easily across your tongue, offering dusty mulberry, blackcurrant and bay-leaf flavours as it travels.'
Newsletter from the team at Fine Wine Club - Edition 6 2010 - 18/20
'Wow. A crowd pleaser. Forward and ripe, this has black fruits, cedar box/tobacco leaf, blackcurrant and a touch of ribena. There is even a touch of peppermint and fly spray (a good thing). There is plenty of grip from the oak, but the fruit handles this with ease. Tremendous.'
West Australian - 11.02.10 - 89/100
'Stylish, rich and multi-layered cabernet from Coonawarra. Oak has been neatly woen into the silky smooth fruit. Dark fruits with a slightly sappy leafy finish adding a little astringency. Make sure you decant in its early years.'
Daily Advertiser - Max Crus - 18.08.09 - 9.1/10
' Big B this is all cloves and spice and fantastic. Following an afternoon of mulled wine, that's not surprising.'
Matthew Jukes - Sept 09
'If you had to make a list of the classic Coonawarra Cab hallmarks that you might hope to find in a wine, every box is ticked here. The waft of fresh-picked mint, faint tones of eucalypt, dusty, grippy tannins and a blackberry-soaked palate all stand to attention. Admittedly, this is a young pup and so a few years wouldn't hurt it in the cellar but, having said all this, if you stick to a Coorong steak you won't go wrong with this scrummy wine.'
James Halliday 2010 Australian Wine Companion - Rating 90 Points
'Very correct varietal expression due to blackcurrant, and touches of sweet-earth; excellent texture and mouthfeel; great value.'
West Australian - 30.5.09
'The aroma has minty gumleaf influence overlaying the traditional red berry characters of this region. Intense with typical Coonawarra elegance. 89/100.'
Featured in Wine.com, Great Wines under $20 - 92 Points - 16.02.08