Coonawarra

Coonawarra has a roadshow each year....and since I was in Melbourne at the time, it seemed like a pretty good opportunity to see what is happening in Coonawarra...

First off...They know their whites aren't great...I know their whites aren't great...there aren't a lot of them.  The riesling was quite disappointing overall...I actually felt like it went through Malo...a bit flat...flabby..I dunno, it was really odd...

Overall, I was actually slightly disappointed....Maybe it was the environment....or maybe I'm just getting annoyingly picky...Either way, a lot of good wines there...not a lot of great wines there.

Just a few highlights...

Reschke Bos 2004
Good overall balance.  Mulberry, blueberry, spices on the nose...Reasonably good acidity, some earthy notes, leather.  Felt a bit different than the typical Coonawarra Cab..I'm a bit surprised they haven't sold out of this and releasing their 2005....it is a pretty fair price..pretty decent wine...

Brand Laira Tall Vines shiraz 2010
Dark and red fruits, good acid, good texture...reasonably complex..pretty good Coonawarra Shiraz overall.

Brand Laira 171 Cabernet 2009
This is one of their flagship wines so I'm expecting something pretty big but at the same time, I've been pretty happy with how they do their wines with reasonably good acidity.  This one is no different...might've been my favorite wine of the night having struck a good balance between a dark brooding Coonawarra Cab and something a bit lighter on it's feet showing good acidity, reasonably good mid palate, good length, complexity and depth.

Brand Laira 171 Cabernet 2010
Not yet released and still a bit on the young side compared to the 2009 but still, very good...I think this might end up being better than the 2009 but hard to say...good acidity, dark and red fruits, earth, some herbs..bigger tannins but not ridiculously big..nice fine approachable tannins contrast with good acidity..

Highbank - They had a few wines there...A red blend, their Cabernet reserve...all were quite interesting...different than the typical Coonawarra Cab..well made...I'm a bit on the fence about them though.  I hadn't heard of them and thought they were a small producer...had a boutique wine that I could pick up for somewhere in the 20s...then I looked it up....nope.....50, 60 for the blends..80+ for the reserve...well made wines, fairly interesting...but a bit too expensive...