Katnook Estate Cabernet vertical: 1981 – 2011
This tasting was from 18 months ago, yet given the age-worthiness of the Katnook Cabernets I’m not worried about these wines falling over…
But let’s start at the beginning.
Katnook’s winemaking history dates back to 1896, with Coonawarra’s 2nd ever vintage made in the Katnook woolshed by John Riddoch. That building then became the Coonawarra fruit colony, with vines not planted until 1971 when the Yunghanns bought Katnook and the first Katnook wines made in 1980.
Wayne Stehbens was the first Katnook winemaker and, in a rare circumstance given he doesn’t own the joint, Wayne is still the winemaker nearing 40 vintages later.
Over the years Katnook has picked up two Jimmy Watsons and established itself as Coonawarra name, the estate eventually bought by the multi-national Freixenet group (the Cava makers) in 1998. The commemorative 30th release 2011 Katnook Cabernet Sauvignon is reviewed below.
For all Katnook’s history, however, I can’t help but feel that the modern wines can look a little dated. The oak, for one, is typically overt (Wayne ‘loves the flavour of oak maturation’), to the point where it occasionally ruins the joy of the Prodigy and Odyssey wines. Ditto the ripeness, with many of the wines looking just a little desiccated and porty, even in the cooler vintages.
Still, what Katnook does have is some seriously top wines in the back catalogue. Now if only they can find that consistency again…
The following wines were tasted in a large lineup mid 2013. Notes are as written on the day. Extra bits in italics.
Segura Viudas Aria NV
A ring in and a good one. 15 months on lees. Fresh and tart. Has a nice simple refreshment to it. Not complex, just refreshing. Lovely really 17.5/20, 91/100
Katnook Estate Sauvignon Blanc 1981
Heavy toast. Buttered toast with marmalade. A little corky. Looks very much a honeyed beast. The second ever Katnook Sauv. Honeyed decay but alive and quite sweet fruited. Lots of acidity. 7g/l residual and looks quite generous. Has probably helped to make this generous. Dry Sauternes-esque. 15.5/20, 85/100
Katnook Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2003
Sauvignon Blanc post 1982 saw a little skin contact. This looks like herbal and tart, phenolic and firm without any of the generosity of the previous wine. Sweet and sour and phenolic. Not a fan but shows the path. 15/20, 83/100
Katnook Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2012
Apparently Katnook produced the first labelled Sauvignon Blanc in Australia! Anyway this is dry, citrussy and varietal with a nice punch of passionfruit. It’s a quite linear yet ripe style without the tropical fruit of Kiwi. Slightly disconnected wine though, with quite pretty nose, textural fullness through the finish and then phenolics. Almost hnails it, but falls just short in the washup. 16.5/20, 88/100
Cabernet Sauvignon
The 1991 easily the best wine in this lineup. 2000 next, then 90, 10 etc. There’s some contention, but 2004 ‘apparently’ the first Cab in screwcap. Most of these wines saw 2 years in small French oak.
Katnook Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 1980
Coffeed with something of a tawny edge. Coffeed and briary of also quite gentle, the palate losing out to acidity and alcohol but still with a certain berried ripeness through the middle. Good. 16.5/20, 88/100
Katnook Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 1981
Dusty and liquered with a little maderised characters. Obviously a warm vintage and rather ripe and gently sweet. Hanging on to its caramel fudge richness but also somewhat oxidised. 15.5/20, 85/100
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Katnook Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 1990
Big and brooding nose. Nice to see some hedgerow and cedar varietal stamp, but still lots of quite warm fruit. That firm, ‘just ripe’ edge to the tannins makes this much tastier than expected. Big tannins, big fruit. A wall of ripe Coonawarra sound. Perhaps too ripe and caramelised if not without appeal. Kinda charming, if full. 18/20, 93/100
Katnook Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 1991
Wine of the tasting. Cohesive. Spot on ripeness, the frame much more medium weight and the style less about a whack of everything. A Coonawarra classicists dream in the prime of its life. Tannins will keep you coming. 18.7/20, 95/100
Katnook Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2000
Perhaps not a perfectly defined Coonawarra red – a little warm for that. But still a very good mix of cedar and spice with chocolate oak. Finishes a little short in context – a front palate red, yet punctuated by at least drying tannins. Perhaps a little desiccated? Lovely wine though. 18/20, 93/100
Katnook Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2001
Rather oak drawn and warm. Looks forward and juicy, a bit clumsy and lumpy but has a firm boldness to it that is attractive. Alcoholic and a bit heavy and black. Good not great. Alcohol rising up fast. Beats you around the head this. But the core Coonawarra black fruit and cedar is unquestioned. 17.7/20, 92/100+
Katnook Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2002
Quite smoky and deep but not leafy. There is some bay leaf and chocolate but otherwise a dry and acidic sort of a beast. There is an intensity here though which suggests much potential. If it resolves. Maybe not classic though but an intriguing wine. 17.8/20, 92/100
Katnook Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2003
Flashy. Hot summers and dry vines. Has a sweetness of oak that tries to lift what is a dried palate of firmness. Mint lifts this back into classic Coona terms Already drying out and heading in the direction of the 01 but not without structure or heart. 17.5/91, 91/100
Katnook Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2004
An odd wine. I don’t this is a great bottle as it looks a little raisined and fusty. NR
Katnook Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2005
Rather slathered in oak. A very firm and raisined edge wine that looks so much more flattering than the older wines but without much appeal. Didn’t like this much in context. 16/20, 87/100
Katnook Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2010
Berried and very luscious and oaky. Sweet and generous and plump. But where is the leafiness? Generous and affable. It gets deeper and more tannic the closer you look. Closed. Perhaps a little homogeneous? Has much to give methinks. 18/20, 93/100+
Katnook Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2011
Light and berried. Early drinking and generous, the palate pulling up short and driven by tannins. But I like tannins. Definitely not the impact of the wine before it but quite pretty. A little weedy but quite attractive still. Maybe too much oak? Not unattractive, but hardly blinding. 17/20, 90/100
Two super-premium ‘dessert’ wines:
Katnook Estate Odyssey Cabernet Sauvignon 1991
Very youthful. Still quite red. So very oaky. It’s an oak wine first, with grainy oak tannins and so much sweet oak. Oak oak oak oak oak. The problem is that the oak obscures everything. As a made wine it is exceptionally youthful and impressive. But not a terroir wine by any stretch. 17.5/20, 91/100
Katnook Estate Odyssey Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
120-130% new oak for 3 years! Richness and warmth liquid oak. Liquid oak. It’s so tight and warm that you can’t see much. But there is power and weight here. Behind the oak. A colossally rich red though that’s going to live forever. Has a sense of mightiness. 18/20, 93/100
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Comment
Nice writeup, would have been an interesting tasting session.