Coonawarra Cabs

[Randy Caparoso]

Gosh, Nancy, the wines from the famed Coonawarra have been strangely hard to come by in the U.S. Nor am I familiar with Robertson's Well.

The one I know, and which is seen in most parts of the country, is Wynn's Coonawara Cabernet Sauvignon. The current release, the '95, is medium in weight, a little weedy/bellpeppery, a touch of shriveled blackberry, and otherwise very, very fine -- moderate, balanced flavors with a sense of elegance. Not intense, but very enjoyable! Great for summer barbecues (soy marinated beef, whole mushrooms and bellpeppers), I'm sure.

There's also a fairly intense, and again medium-weight, Wynn's Cabernet-Shiraz out; but it doesn't thrill me as much.

The best Coonawarra reds, in my humble opinion, are those of Bowen. Seen in small pockets of the U.S. Big, thick, lusty, minty, smoky oaked Cabernet Sauvignon, and trencherman's style of Cabernet-Shiraz. Full throttled, full tannin which veer towards roughness; and because of that, often underrated, in my opinion. Bowen's Cabernet-Shiraz, if memory serves, tends to be a little more supple than the pure Cab. You can't go wrong if you see them.

Hardy's exports a medium intense Coonawarra Cab to the U.S.; but I'm not a big fan of their stuff (I find them lacking in a little "soul" -- and I associate breathy, earthy qualities with Coonawarra). Obviously a personal prediliction; so you may like it.