Balnaves, Coonawarra Cabernet/Merlot 2020

Country: Australia  Region: South Australia  Vintage: 2016   

Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon and blends  Category: Red Wine

Colour: Red

Producer: Balnaves

"The Balnaves family vineyard is situated at the southern end of the famous Coonawarra Terra Rossa strip. Planted in 1975, the vineyard is now 58 hectares in size (70% planted with Cabernet Sauvignon) and has been in the family for three generations. Doug, together with his son Pete and daughter Kirsty, run the Balnaves vineyard and manage another 300 hectares for other growers in the heart of Coonawarra.

The quality of their fruit was always excellent, but they began their move to the top of the Coonawarra ladder in 1995 when they hired Pete Bissell (ex-Wynns) as their winemaker and started work on their own winery. The vineyard is divided into small blocks of between one and two hectares, which are managed separately according to the specific needs of each area. This gives Pete numerous blending components, which results in layered and complex wines.

The Cabernet Sauvignon, intense and poised, illustrates beautifully the balance that Pete obtains in his wines. The 'Tally' (a reference to the number of sheep you could
shear in a day) is their top wine and is consistently rated as one of Australia's top
Cabernets."

Winemaker: Pete Bissell

Vineyards:

Balnaves' 35 hectares of Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards are split up into sub blocks (some only one hectare in area), on the basis of soil type, clone variation, trellis type etc. This enables Balnaves to adopt different treatments for these smaller areas. Balnaves has the ability to apply supplementary water through a central computer to all the vineyards, but at least one third has not been watered for five years. The vines are between 12 and 22 years old, and are trained on a single wire.

Vinification:

After fermentation the wine was matured for 17 months in new and used French oak from St Martin, Seguin Moreau, Sylvain and Saury prior to bottling in November 2012.

Tasting Notes:

Deep red in colour, the nose is complex with dark blackberry, elderberry, cassis fruit and a touch of olive. The palate is medium bodied, with a taught lean structure, dark fruit and firm tannin. The finish is long and textured with fine grainy grape tannins.

Food Suggestion: Roast lamb is best suited to this wine. Try with casseroles or a selection of hard cows'-milk cheeses

Closure: Natural Cork  ABV: 14%  Acidity [g/l]: 6.15