Wynns John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon 2019

Wynns John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra, South Australia, 2019  

Grapes: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon grown on red "Terra Rossa" limestone soil. Sourced from 3 vineyard parcels with an average vine age 36 years. 16 months' ageing in new and seasoned French oak barrels. 31% new French oak, 69% in 1-4yo French oak. 85% barriques, 15% hogsheads.

One of the greatest wines from Australia made only in the best vintages and, since 2014, the "John Riddoch" Cabernet releases have been classified as ‘Exceptional’ in Langton’s Classification of Australian wines.

Producer Tasting Note:

An attractive lift of violet adds floral perfume to its bright red and dark cherries, with deep undertones of chestnut and bitter dark chocolate imparting a brooding complexity. The near ideal conditions offered by 2019 have produced a brightly lit John Riddoch which flows elegantly without excess weight. Its vivid red and black forest berries sit within a classical medium-weighted frame, before they extend with great persistence to a long finish marked by an impression of sandalwood and finely detailed tannins.

Critics' Tasting Notes:

"The refinement of coopers (a result of repeated and long-term R&D over the years) is now starting to emerge as a key part of the success of these new release, premium wines. The selected one or two coopers work to preface the fruit and support the fruit and show the terroir… This is why we drink wine: to taste the place that it came from and to be transported there, if even for a moment. This 2019 John Riddoch Limited Release Cabernet Sauvignon is exceptional—it is pure and has tannic sway and flow, and the palate is steeped in five spice, raspberry, mulberry, cassis and black tea. Inchoate. Don't touch it for seven years at least. Even then..."

97+/100 points, Erin Larkin, WINE ADVOCATE, August 2022

"Winemaker Sue Hodder celebrates 30 years with Wynns, and this wine represents the pinnacle of her portfolio. It is only made in the best years from the best 1% of their Cabernet fruit. The nose is very refined, very classic, cedars with polished oak over ripe, creamy black fruit. A little graphite and olive lift is lovely. On the palate it is medium-bodied and lithe, as supple and sweet dark fruits are supported by creamy-chocolate tannins and ripe cherry acidity. The quality of French oak is subtle and integrated. A very poised, fine wine"

95/100 points, Tom Cannavan, January 2022

Wynn's recommended food pairing is poached Hainanese Chicken Rice.