In part 2 we looked at the early history of Wynns Coonawarra Estate. In this segment we review the vineyard across the decades.
PART 3.
The 1950s Not only was 1954 the first vintage, but it was also the year that the Johnson Vineyard was planted, now the oldest-surviving Cabernet vineyard in Coonawarra.
The ‘50s were tough going – only one other winery and not a single wine labelled Coonawarra, until Wynns adopted the region’s name. Ian Hickinbotham, the first winemaker described the region at the time as “the stink of failure”. In those days, much of the transport was still by bullocks.
Vintage extended for a longer period back then (thank climate change), meaning that with a single picking, a mix of unripe, ripe, and overripe grapes arrived at the winery. Picking is much more selective these days. The early Wynns winemakers were some of the first winemakers in the world to understand malolactic fermentation. (Ray Beckwith at Penfold’s was arguably the first). It has often been said that without Beckwith, there would never have been Grange.)
There were some good vintages in the ‘50s – 1954, 1955, and 1959 especially, although both times the ’55 fell well short. 1957 was the coldest growing season in 60 years. 1954 showed superbly on both occasions, while 1959 was sublime at the 60th, far better than a decade earlier. In part 4 you can check out the tasting notes of these wines tasted in 2018.
The 1960s Neither 1961 (frost) nor 1963 (wet) were made, though interestingly, Mildara’s Coonawarra Cabernet from 1963 is a legendary wine that had been nicknamed “Peppermint Patty.” The decade was warmer than the ‘50s but cooler than subsequent decades. It was a decade when Wynns took the opportunity to buy as much vineyard land as they could – there were still only the two wineries in the district. There was still no electricity at the winery. 1968 is thought to be the first vintage to see the use of American oak. At the time, the best years were considered to be 1960, 1966 and 1967.
What was curious about this decade was that at the tasting, (see part 4), these wines changed far more in glass than those from either the ‘50s or 70’s.
The 1970s This was the wettest decade of the lot, and Wynns was working with only young vineyards, because much of the land purchased during the expansion of the ‘60s was coming into production. Wynns now had 214 ha (530 acres) of which 42 percent was Cabernet. Far too many wines were decidedly green. Show judges had seen plenty of green Bordeaux around this time and, for reasons best known to themselves, decided this must be the future, and so grapes were often picked while unripe, herbaceous being the order of the day.
Leafy canopies, with the onset of mechanical harvesting in 1974, did not help. Machine pruning followed in 1979. A white-wine boom meant much of the famed terra rossa was grafted over to whites – at this time, 50 percent of it was planted to Riesling. In the winery, stainless-steel fermenting tanks had arrived, and puncheons were used for aging. Small oak was not introduced until 1985, thanks to it’s winemaker at that time John Wade. One ray of sunshine was the 1976 winning the Jimmy Watson Trophy, the first time a Coonawarra wine achieved the feat. 1970, 1971, 1975, 1976, and 1978 were all considered good years.
The 1980s Things were improving as many vines started reaching maturity. Wynns purchased another 200 ha (500 acres), while Penfold’s purchased Wynns (and they have formed part of the corporate dance through a series of owners ever since). A visit by UK Masters of Wine considered to have such a positive impact on the UK market for Australian wineries, took place in 1985, helping to give the region an international focus.
Use of smaller barrels and barrel fermentation increased, and much greater emphasis was placed on pH. This was the decade when Wynns finally got serious about viticulture. 1980, 1986, and 1988 were considered the top years. 1982 was special as well, and even the “biblical year” of 1983 performed admirably – biblical due to pretty much everything being thrown at it, notably horrendous bushfires, tornadoes, and floods.
The 1990s The pendulum had swung, and the demand was for more full-bodied reds – indeed, Sue Hodder who took over in 1993 noticed that when she first took over from Douglas, she felt obligated to make monsters. Not really Coonawarra’s thing, but winemakers did their best to comply. Wynns purchased another 300 ha (750 acres) in 1993 and, by 1996, boasted 1,275 ha (3,150 acres) which 428 ha (1,050 acres) were Cabernet.
The 1998 label
Winery capacity was increased to the extent that they could store 2,000 barrels and had capacity for 3,400 tons on skins. Yields varied between 3 and 6-7 tons per hectare. Sue believes four to six is ideal. In the early part of the decade, some American oak was still being used. By the end, between 20 percent and 25 percent of the wine saw new oak barrels. Peter Douglas would argue that 1990 was the vintage of the century, though plenty would make that claim for 1991. 1996, 1998, and 1999 were all superb too. 1995 was considered the least good year of the decade, but even it has more than outperformed the hype.
By 1998, Wynns was producing 80,000 cases of Black Label Cabernet, though that number has decreased in recent years, depending on the vintage. Unfortunately, Wynns is a little less forthcoming with some information than they once were – a sign of the times?
The 2000s and on Much of the work done during this period has been in the vineyards, and it showed in the wines, with this bracket the finest of the tasting. (I will feature the tasting notes on the 2000’s in part 6). Balance is the key, and it is what the team seeks, with the proviso that “vintage trumps everything.” Much work has been done on the characters derived from individual vineyards, not least with the release of the Single Vineyard Series, which varies from year to year, depending on vineyard performance. The average age of vines is around 30 years.
There were some numerous good vintages throughout this period, or perhaps work in the vineyard and winery have simply meant that poor ones are far less likely to slip through. In days gone by, one suspects they would never have attempted a wine from the horrible 2011, but they actually made an amazing release. The best? 2004, ’06, ’08, ’10, ’12, ’14, and finally cracking the even-year curse, 2015.
Black Label remains Wynns most important wine and surely the most important wine from Coonawarra. I believe many would argue it is the most important Cabernet in Australia. It is also a serious contender for best bargain to be found anywhere. Recommended retail in Australia is A$45, but can be picked up at liquor chains for under $30 per bottle.
.The winemakers
1951-53 Ian Hickinbotham
1954-58 Norm Walker
1961-68 Jock Redman
1971-77 Ken Ward
1978-85 John Wade
1986-97 Peter Douglas
1989-95 Peter Bissell
1993-present Sue Hodder
1998-present Sarah Pidgeon
In part 4 we start the tasting notes of Wynns Black Label between 1954 – 1975 I hope you have some of these gems in your cellar!
If you do then these are the ultimate tasting notes done in 2018.
