Coonawarra celebrates 130 years of winemaking this year. That’s a handy innings for any wine region, let alone here in the colonies. 130 years is also long enough to get things right, and Coonawarra is a region that has inarguably earned a reputation as a king – or even THE king – of Australian Cabernet Sauvignon.
But that’s not enough. Not in a world where the old style of Cabernet Sauvignon – the leafy, firm, patience-demanding style – is well out of fashion, replaced by waves of approachable, low tannin reds.
So, where to now for this hero region?
That was what I was thinking about as I bounced into the 2025 Coonawarra Tutorial last week. This national tasting series, put on by the Coonawarra Vignerons for media and sommeliers, promised to present ‘the past and present’ of the region, and answer my question rather neatly.
Of course, I can only imagine how much energy the pack of Coonawarra winemakers assembled for this tasting series has also devoted to the challenge of where the future lies. Especially given the diversity of experiences in the room, including Sue Bell (Bellwether), Dan Redman (Redman), Sam Brand (Brand & Sons), Matilda Innes (Ottelia) and Chris Plummer (Wynns Coonawarra).
I don’t think the wines below really offer definitive answers, but there is some clues – it’s a vision of Coonawarra with less extraction, more mediumness and still plenty of Cabernet. Do you think it will work?
Let’s have a look at some wines and ponder, hey:
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