Resting on the Victorian border in South Australia almost at aequal distance between Melbourne and Adelaide, Coonawarra is famous for its deeply coloured rusty dirt over ancient limestone. It’s also Australia’s foremost and founding region for Cabernet Sauvignon.
Cabernet Sauvignon has been synonymous with this region since John Riddoch planted the first vines back in the 1890s. One of the coolest places in Australia to ripen the variety, the potently cassis-flavoured fruit has a distinctly regional peppermint-patty back-note. Shiraz and Merlot also feature prominently here, again with a unique terroir-driven spice and menthol-like freshness. Chardonnay and Riesling are the key white grapes, always presenting with lovely minerality and acidity.
Coonawarra is a low, mainly flat region that sits along a series of ancient sea bed of limestone ridges that run from the ocean about 50km to the south. The famed terra rossa strip forms the region’s core; 2km wide and 27 km long, this permeable red clay coloured by iron oxide is only 50cm deep. The cool maritime climate here is dry but cloudy, with warm days in summer followed by cool nights, just what you need for a long ripening period, vibrant acidity and complexity in the grapes.
Coonawarra is one of the oldest wine regions in Australia, with John Riddoch famed for establishing Cabernet in the 1890s, there were vines and fruit trees between the old weathered gums back in the 1850s. The region’s history has oscillated over the years as farmers focused on sheep grazing rather than wine production. It wasn’t until David Wynn started adding the name Coonawarra to labels in the 1950s that the region developed its modern history. From their peak popularity in the 1990s, when exports exploded for this new-styled alternative to Bordeaux, Coonawarra has remained a traditional region with little change to the winemaking styles, varieties and even the key families who grow there.
The Taylor Ferguson Merlot grows on a plot on McGillivray Rd, not far from the Coonawarra township. Planted nearly 40 years ago, it provides some very bold and flavoursome fruit with brooding purple and blue berry flavours, backed by just a whisper of the region’s signature peppermint-patty character. This wine shows a great balance of intensity and elegance, with a medium body, soft tannins and complex, persistent finish.
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