God lives in the Coonawarra

One of the great wine makers of Australia is Brian Croser of Petaluma. He makes lovely chardonnays and a Riesling you would die for but one of the wines of his that I really like is the Cabernet-Merlot. I drank my sole (sob!) remaining bottle of the 1990 vintage this evening.

It is 88% cabernet and 12% merlot and, in terms of viticultural conditions, this wine came from one of the best-ever years in The Coonawarra.

Jamie Oliver’s review of this wine (consumed 2007):

‘Complex and statuesque, with a dusty, smoky and floral perfume whose beautifully developed fruit, cedary oak and undergrowth-like complexity overlie classic cabernet dried herb influences.

Sumptuous and powerful, yet superbly structured and elegant, its rich layers of dark fruit knit tightly with firm, fine-gained tannins, finishing with a lingering core of vibrant flavour.

Message: Even at 17 years of age, top-level Australian cabernet can appear backward, in need of additional cellaring time, and plenty of it’

I certainly agree with the word ‘elegant’ although it seems to me very drinkable now - yum.

The Petaluma wines are never jaw-breaking 'big' wines - they are elegant, understated and delicious. This wine does have a slight herbaceous ‘greenness’ about it that was not, at all, a wine-making fault. A seriously good wine that makes me seriously unhappy as I look at that depleted bottle.