Winery: Katnook

Region: Coonawarra

Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon

Vintage: 2008

Your Wine Guy says:

Showing that typical Coonawarra minty-ness combining beautifully with lifted dark berry, cassis and cedary oak. A substantial palate structure loaded with ripe fruit flavours follows with intense and concentrated flavours of black and mulberry fruits, some toasty oak providing fine tannins which gives great balance between strong fruit and a good tannin structure. Great now and will continue to be for at least 10 years, if not 15 or more. An excellent wine.

95 Points YWG Drink to 2022+

Critics say:

“It’s a sea of medium-weight blackcurrant. You’d almost call this a ‘Claret style’, though it’s fresher and bolder and indeed fruitier than that. Toast, mulberries, dark olives too. A good tug of tannin. Noticeable persistence. Excellent style of wine.”

94 Points drink 2014-2022 Campbell Mattinson The Wine Front

The winemaker says:

Colour: Deep, very dark plum with purple tinged edges.

Nose: Ripe dark berry fruits, hints of dusty mulberry and spicy plum fragrances are combined with subtle chocolate and light roast coffee bean oak maturation tones.

Palate: A substantial palate structure loaded with ripe fruit flavours are a feature of this wine. Rich dark berries, plums, dusty mulberries have combined smoothly with sweet vanillin, chocolate and subtle cedary oak tones from maturation in oak barrels. Ample fine grained tannins complement the generous palate and lingering flavours. - Wayne Stehbens

Winery Information:

This wine is listed in the ‘Distinguished’ category of Langton’s Fine Wine Classification, founder Andrew Caillard (Master of Wine) writes: “Katnook Cabernet Sauvignon reflects its strong Coonawarra provenance with plenty of intense blackcurrant mulberry fruit definition, mid palate richness, finely grained tannins and excellent flavour length. The wines have medium to long-term cellaring potential.”

Katnook Estate’s winemaking history stretches back to 1896, when Coonawarra’s second vintage was made in the Katnook woolshed by Scottish immigrant John Riddoch. To encourage settlement in the far south east of South Australia, Riddoch set up the Coonawarra Fruit Colony at Katnook in a stone building which still stands today.

In 1980, the first wines were made under Katnook Estate and Riddoch labels in the Katnook woolshed just as John Riddoch had done 84 years before. Katnook Estate’s first winemaker, Wayne Stehbens has continuously made the wines.

Katnook Estate won two Jimmy Watson trophies (in 1987 and 1998) and two major trophies from the UK based 2003 International Wine and Spirit Competition (Best Vintage Red Wine of the Year and Best Australian Red Wine). Odyssey Cabernet Sauvignon and Katnook Estate Cabernet Sauvignon have both earned a place in Australia’s Langton classification, “the honour roll” of fine Australian wine. In the Langton’s Classification IV, Odyssey receives a rating of Outstanding and the Katnook Estate Cabernet Sauvignon a rating of Distinguished.

The quality and consistency of our Estate wines are intrinsic to Katnook Founder's Block wines, which are supple, fruit forward wines for immediate enjoyment.