Today
Wynns Coonawarra Estate is the
Coonawarra's pre-eminent wine producer,
with the largest holding of the region's
best and oldest vineyards. The terra rossa
soil and cool climate produce low yields
of intensely flavoured grapes, and the
resulting wines have long been regarded as
some of Australia's greatest, known for
their richness and longevity.
Wynns
Coonawarra Estate, under Sue Hodder
who has been Chief Winemaker since 1998,
produces five wines every year. In
vintages where the quality of grapes is
exceptional, two flagship reds are made,
the John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon, and
the Michael Shiraz.
Region
Overview Of all the Australian winemaking
regions, Coonawarra - which is an
Aboriginal word meaning 'honeysuckle' -
stands alone in a number of aspects. Most
other regions were established close to
the major markets such as Sydney,
Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. Coonawarra,
however, is an isolated region 450
kilometres away from both Melbourne and
Adelaide, but it's not on the way to
either.
Thus,
Coonawarra, as a wine region, owes its
existence due to its proximity to any
major market but to its unique geological
and climatic features - ideal for growing
vines bearing the highest quality grapes
available for making wine.
With a
location so isolated in the very south
eastern Limestone Coast of South
Australia, it is not surprising that
Coonawarra has faced a long, hard road
towards national and international
recognition.
Terra
Rossa Coonawarra's fame comes mostly from
a freakish natural phenomenon called the
terra rossa. Meaning literally 'red
earth', the terra rossa is a low,
cigar-shaped ridge of soil some 15
kilometres long and up to 1 kilometre
wide. It is, in fact, a section of old
seacoast.
About
600,000 years ago, Coonawarra was under
water. During that time the earth bore
witness to about 12 ice ages. Each new ice
age created a new, retreating shoreline
and each of these ancient shorelines left
a barely visible ridge built up of
limestone over sandstone. Coonawarra is
one such ridge.
Over the
subsequent half-million or so years, a
loamy soil formed on the surface as winter
rain leached the calcium out of the
limestone, and summer sun broke it down
and coloured it red by dehydrating and
oxidising the iron compounds left
behind.
This layer
of terra rossa topsoil is rich and free
draining but thin - from just 5
centimetres to 100 centimetres deep. It is
one of the best soils for growing vines in
Australia.
Beneath
the terra rossa soil is a band of
calcrete: calcium carbonate leached out of
the topsoil and redeposited immediately
above the limestone. This layer, up to 15
centimetres thick, is usually broken up
before vines are planted so that roots can
go deeper.
Next is a
layer of porous limestone up to 2 metres
thick and below that the abundant water
table. This subterranean water constantly
seeps into the area from mountains
situated hundreds, perhaps thousands, of
kilometres away.
The vine
roots explore the full depth of the terra
rossa, but rarely venture into the
limestone beneath because of high
alkalinity and impenetrability. The
excellent water holding capacity of the
clay-loam terra rossa sustains the vine
until early January, when if no rainfall
impacts, the vines start to stress and the
shoots stop growing. This naturally
creates smaller, well coloured berries
that develop in optimal sunlight, and
result in low yielding, intensely
flavoured grapes, ideal for making premium
wine.
ClimateThe
second most important factor is the
climate. Like all great wine regions of
the world, Coonawarra's climate is cool
and marginal. It is South Australia's
southernmost wine region, only 80 kms from
the chilly southern ocean and cold
Antarctic winds.
The
winters are cold and wet with most of the
annual rainfall falling in the winter
months. Spring is cool and often frosty.
The mild, dry summers are followed by a
long cool autumn. In many respects this is
similar to the Medoc region of
Bordeaux.
The result
of this cool climate is that the vines are
assured a long cool ripening period that
builds up the intensity of flavours slowly
in the grape and ensures a balanced
acidity. The resulting wines will always
be among Australia's greatest wines for
their richness, intensity, depth of
flavour and excellent
longevity.
Wynns
Coonawarra Vineyards in Coonawarra's
very limited terra rossa soil have become
highly sought after in Australia, making
them the most expensive in the country at
approximately $100,000 per hectare. Wynns
Coonawarra Estate owns approximately 70%
of the vineyards planted on the terra
rossa soil (which is the lion's share, the
most any producer owns) and as the pioneer
of the region, also has the oldest
vines.
Cabernet
sauvignon is Coonawarra's flagship variety
but the region also produces fine reds
from shiraz and fine whites from
chardonnay and riesling. In particular,
the Wynns Coonawarra Estate wines are
known as the benchmark from the Coonawarra
region.
Address:
Memorial Drive, Coonawarra, South
Australia 5263
Phone: +61 8 8736 2225 Fax: +61 8 8736
2228
www.wynns.com.au
