Winery: Wynn’s Coonawarra Estate
Region: V & A Lane Vineyards, Coonawarra
Variety: Shiraz
Vintage: 2009
Your Wine Guy says:
The V & A Lane Shiraz is a great new label to be offered by theCoonawarraspecialists atWynns. A great release from 2008, the nose seduces with volumes of blue and blackberry, dark plum fruits, white pepper and chocolate. The palate does not disappoint, with a rich intensity of flavours like spicy blueberries, finding great balance with quite soft tannins even at this age. Great in the glass now (better with a decant) and will improve for many years in the cellar.
Rating 94 Points YWG Drink to 2020+
Critics say:
“Bright colour; lavish levels of toasty oak have been applies to concentrated black fruits; the palate is young, raw and tannic, needing time to fully integrate; a powerful wine in every respect.”
Rating 95 Points Drink to 2025 James Halliday Australian Wine Companion 2012
The winemaker says:
The wine spent 15 months in 67% new French oak barrels and 33% in one year old French oak.
Colour: Deep crimson in colour.
Nose: An alluring perfume of black cherries, violets, plums and creamy French oak.
Palate: Bountiful but soft tannins coat the palate leaving a rich layering of supple blackberry and chocolate flavours in the mouth. Focused fruit and savoury nuances create a wine of great structure and texture, yet with a defined elegant finish. - Sarah Pidgeon
Winery Information:
V & A Lane is a long, straight road that dissects Coonawarra's famous terra rossa strip at its midpoint. Estimated to be surveyed in the late 1840s, the lane divides the original electorates of Victoria and Albert.
Traditionally it has been used as a landmark to separate northern and southern vineyards in Coonawarra, and is a prestigious and sought after locality for growing exceptional Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz.
This wine honours Wynns' prized vineyards along V & A Lane. The renowned fruit from these vineyards has a signature density and richness; the defining characteristic of this location along the Coonawarra strip.
The first releases in 2008 saw two wines made to highlight the fruit from the vineyards on V & A Lane; a straight Shiraz and a Cabernet Shiraz blend. Wynns plans to continue these labels when the fruit quality is high enough.
Wynns Coonawarra Estate was the first winery to be established in Coonawarra, by John Riddoch in 1896. The winery is located on the world famous strip of 'Terra Rossa' soil that produces fruit of an exceptionally high quality, particularly Cabernet Sauvignon.
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.
Sue Hodder has been Chief Winemaker at Wynns Coonawarra Estate since 1998. Sarah Pidgeon also started with Wynns in 1998 and is now in charge of the V & A Lane range.
In vintages where the quality of grapes is exceptional, two flagship reds are made, the John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon, and the Michael Shiraz.
Single vineyard Wynns releases include the 2001 Harold Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2003 and 2004 Johnson's Block Shiraz Cabernet, the 2005 Messenger Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006 Alex 88 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2007 Glengyle Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2008 Davis Cabernet Sauvignon.