Coonawarra Wines - Limestone Coast, South Australia

AGE does not weary these Coonawarra reds, writes Tony Love.
The Advertiser, March 04, 2009 12:00am
Dru Reschke is having a minor midlife crisis, It is nothing personal. It has more to do with his family winery's top-line Ambriel's Gift cabernet blend.

The winery, Koonara, is pouring in its mid-town Penola cellar door a museum-style release of the 2002 vintage that slowly has been evolving in its bottle.

At the same time, the 2006 Ambriel's Gift is open for business. Both are from the same single vineyard and both are under screw cap.

Which is nothing surprising for the more recent vintage but moreso for the older version because it possibly is the first time in the Coonawarra that a red wine was released totally under the modern era closure.

It is a minor case study on the ageing ability of the region's signature variety, albeit in this case carrying 5 per cent merlot and the same of another Bordeaux variety, cabernet franc.

It is a rare opportunity to taste a classic red style with proper aged characters and compare it with a more recent release for an added bonus experience.

Right here is where Koonara boss Reschke's thoughts about the ageing of wines before release begin to deepen.

"As much as I love an older wine and letting it have that time in the bottle, it seems to me that punters don't have the same (commitment)," he says.

He bases the questioning on his experience through the cellar door and dealing with retail outlets.

Most people might like to talk about aged wines, but they are not really that interested in buying them.

Sometimes they expect there will be something wrong with them. Mostly they go with the freshest available vintages.

Arguably, Australians might have become addicted to the flavour buzz of fresh berry fruit in younger wines. Of all his customers, baby boomers, who have settled into their houses and gathered some spending power, are more inclined to try a red with a few years under its belt, he feels.

Restaurants are among the greatest supporters of the Ambriel's Gift, appreciative of its friendliness over a meal. The '02 fulfils Reschke's general assessment of Coonawarra reds that, to begin showing the intrigues of age, are best held back in the bottle for five to six years.

That makes Reschke a happy camper with where the older Ambriel's Gift is right now. The '06 new release, meanwhile, is full of brisk fruit, young and fresh.

It convinces Reschke that the '06 vintage is shaping in the long term to be one of the best in recent years in the region.

Crafted by winemaker Peter Douglas, it brings to life Reschke's dream to finely tune the family's vineyards so the blend of three varieties is seamless.

"You know the vineyard is in perfect balance because the baumes (sugar ripeness) will be exactly the same for the merlot as it will be for the two cabernets," Reschke says.

It all is picked in one go and whatever comes off the block goes into the same bins from fermentation onwards and then into the best barrels they can buy.

Back at the cellar door in Penola, which doubles as a food-and-wine focused kitchenware shop, there is more to see of these wines and other Koonara reds. The cabernets seem to be on song in the even years, the '02 and '06 to be joined next by the 2004, which has a fabulous body and structure.

The 2003 Ezra's Gift Shiraz Viognier ($24) has in it a 5 per cent smattering of the white grape and again shows the pleasures of age.

At the bargain end of the Koonara offerings, the Angel's Peak 2005s are among the best-value $15 wines you could wish to taste. The cabernet is richer and warmer than the Ambriel's Gift, bigger, softer and more chocolatey yet with a chewy feel and salivating tannins that are allowing it to show the first signs from the cellar.

For a peek into the future, a couple of 2008 barrel samples of top-line cabernet and shiraz show great dense wines, remarkably balanced already.

They are proof of one of Reschke's dictums: "A really good wine is as good as a young wine as it is as an old wine."