Wynns Coonawarra Estate John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon 1999
Having tasted a range of 2003 red wine components of the various Wynns Coonawarra Estate labels, I am extremely encouraged by what I have seen. Firstly, the wines project a pureness and intensity of fruit character that has been lacking for a considerable time. Sue Hodder has clearly revelled in the opportunity given her to make deeply flavoured, highly perfumed and silky smooth wines of genuine elegance, harmony and long-term potential. Furthermore, since these reworked vineyards produce fruit with better balance than they did previously, and reach full physiological ripeness at lower sugar levels, these new Wynns wines should peak around 13% alcohol by volume, or even lower. Even better, Hodder has let the fruit quality shine through a relatively modest proportion of new oak. Jeremy Oliver
Recently Coonawarra has experienced four outstanding or above average vintages in a row - 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001. This gift of nature has given the ammunition this region needs to bring back focus to its wonderful Cabernets. . Andrew Caillard MW
This is Coonawarra Cabernet at its best. Intensly varietal and tightly structured, with volumes of ripe Cabernet fruit complemented by charry French oak. Needs long term cellaring to bring out the richness and complexity of this powerful Cabernet. Wynns Winemaker Sue Hodder
Deep, young and very pure with distinctive Cabernet aromas. On the palate, there is great fruit quality that has amazing depth with rich plum, cherry cassis and dark chocolate flavours surrounded by firm fine grained tannins. Whilst this wine is still a baby, it is quite intergrated and balanced and has the power and complexity to develop for at least a decade. Nearly identical in quality and structure to the 1998 with the only noticable difference being the 1999 has a little less sweet fruit. 94/100 Anthony D'Anna
First made in 1982, the Wynns Coonawarra Estate John Riddoch was conceived as a flagship wine to be made in small quantities from the best fruit available from the estate's extensive Coonawarra Cabernet plantings. It has since become the definitive Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon - and is arguably richer and more concentrated than any other wine in the region.
It is made only in years when grapes of extraordinarily high quality are available. Indeed, just one per cent of the top Cabernet grapes are used to make it. Wynns Coonawarra Estate
First made in 1982, and only vintaged in the best years, and then from the finest material available. It is matured in new French and American oak hogsheads for 12-15 months, and is a wine of enormous concentration and power. Vertical tastings over the past few years have shown that at somewhere about seven years of age the wine typically undergoes a remarkable transformation, opening up almost overnight. We are still to see how long the ensuing plateau will last, for none of the wines back to 1982 have started to decline. James Halliday
Opulent nose of dark berries with lifted aromas of violets and tobacco with hints of dried mint. This full-bodied wine reflects the dimensions of exceptional fruit selection from prized Coonawarra vineyards. Intense dark berry-fruit characters are interlaced with spice, sage and underlying mint flavours. The characteristic silky texture on the palate leads through to a long finish. Wynns Winemaker Sue Hodder
Top of the range is John Riddoch Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon. It is not a single vineyard wine, rather a single varietal ultra-Cabernet Sauvignon using fruit from Wynns’ extensive Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards. The wine is jam packed with fruit and tannins and immersed in new oak, needing several years to integrate. After many years of strong support, this wine now attracts a modest but important following. Andrew Caillard MW
The oak’s been taken up beautifully here – much better, indeed, than the 1998 release did – though it’s possible that at barrel selection time the more restrained, classical cabernet parcels were pushed forward, which is a step entirely in the right direction. This will be a classic wine in ten years time. It’s fruity, sure, but more so firm and tight and tannic, with excellent fruit momentum and thrilling acidity. It presents as a chunky wine of nonetheless finesse. It presents as a wine with an eye to long term quality, rather than to short-term market trends. Drink: 2009-2020. 95 points. Campbell Mattinson. Winefront Monthly
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