Coonawarra - SA

Often called ‘Australia’s Bordeaux’, Coonawarra is one the country’s most celebrated wine regions. It is particularly famous for its Cabernet Sauvignon (and blends with merlot and Shiraz) but this was not always the case. The region actually built its name on Shiraz during the 1950’s and it still produces some of the best examples of Australia’s most popular red wine variety.

The thing that separates Coonawarra from other regions is often described with the French word, ‘terroir’, which describes the sites soil, aspect and climate. Along a short, narrow cigar-shaped piece of land a little over 15 km’s long and 1-3 km’s wide, the soil structure of Coonawarra consists of a base of soft limestone covered with a thin layer of red clay-loam. This soil, called ‘terra rossa’ (red earth), is the most celebrated vineyard soil in Australia and believed to be the main reason why Coonawarra produces great red wines.

The Cabernet Sauvignons are normally rich and concentrated with blackcurrant, mocha coffee and chocolate aromas, and bold ripe berry flavours, often with chocolate or mint overtones. With age (5 to 20 years) you tend to get cedar, cigar box and new leather characters adding complexity to the fruit.

The Shirazes also offer sumptuous, mouth-filling flavours. They often have a peppery, eucalyptus bouquet, a signature of Australian cool climate Shiraz, with dark raspberry, and blackberry fruit flavours that tend to mellow into mulberry with age. Like the Cabernets, Coonawarra Shiraz can age for many years.

In one respect Coonawarra is like a major vineyard region in France, with jam-packed vineyards covering every possible piece of land on the prized ‘terra rossa’ soil.