Rummaging Through The Red Soils Of Coonawarra

By Marcus Braid on August 15, 2014 in

Back in May I visited Coonawarra, the famous wine region located on the Limestone Coast of South Australia. The last time I was in town, in 2007, I visited a ‘secret’ cutting in the ground that showed a profile of the famous red soil sitting on top of the layers of limestone. It was quite a cool experience that the locals could share with the sort of people who really cared about these kinds of things.

These days, it looks like everyone’s into it, so there are a few cuttings around the place (there’s one pictured above), so be careful when running through the vineyards! I found it pretty interesting, but maybe that’s because I’m a massive wine nerd.

As well as getting excited about soil profiles, I also found some great little drops. Here are a few of my favourites…

Balnaves

With family heritage in the region dating back to 1855, the Balnaves know Coonawarra, and yet somehow you don’t seem to see them on a lot of shelves in bottle shops. It’s a shame, because pretty much everything here is a good drop.

Their Chardonnay ($28) rivals those from regions more famous for the grape, while ‘The Blend’ (51% Cab Sauv, 43% Merlot and 6% Cab Franc in 2012) for $19 is a great drop, especially for the price. A Cabernet Merlot and a Shiraz (both $24) are also great value, while the $35 Cabernet Sauvignon is exactly what you’d expect from a Coonawarra Cabernet – serious wine, but great value.

Then there’s ‘The Tally’. This reserve wine has long been in the Langton’s Classification and fits into the second bracket (called ‘Outstanding’), which is one under drops like Grange and Hill of Grace, but on the same level as famous wines by Bindi, Bass Phillip, Grosset, Jasper Hill and many others. It really is a special wine, but so it should be for $90. If you’re a Cabernet fan, you should treat yourself (or get someone to treat you) to a bottle of this.

Bowen Estate

Bowen makes three wines, although you probably only know two of them: the Shiraz and the Cabernet Sauvignon. When we visited the cellar door they had the 2011 and 2012 of both of these wines open and they were really interesting to compare and contrast. 2011 was a difficult vintage and the wines were relatively light, but there’s still some good wine out there. 2012, in contrast, was a good vintage, with richer, more complex wines. You may find either on store shelves and both are interesting wines, but seek out the 2012 if you can.

You may not know that they also produce a Chardonnay. There’s very little of it and it’s generally only sold via the cellar door, but it’s a great drop – lovely new French oak (without being too over the top) with beautiful peach flavours shining through. If you’re a Chardonnay drinker, you need to try this.

The best part is that the cellar door prices are so cheap that I’m almost convinced they’re committing a crime. The Shiraz and Cabernets go for $25 (2011) and $26 (2012), while the Chardy is only $23, which is just insane given the quality. Since you can only get the Chardy at cellar door, it’s the place to go if you’re considering a bottle.

Zema Estate

Zema make some really interesting wines and had a few nice specials on when I was there. I’d recommend the Cluny blend (Cabernet, Merlot, Cab Franc, Malbec – about $20 at cellar door) and pretty much everything else here too. They usually release their wines with a few years on them, ready to go, but they will still reward a few more years in the cellar.