CHAPTER 23 | 1980–1982 – Out of the Cold
the Australian wine show circuit. They possessed a distinctive clarity, richness of flavour, and tannin quality that matched evolving expectations of the day. The wines were neither overly concentrated nor underpowered. Coonawarra reds were beautifully poised between the light- and full-bodied shades of Australian burgundy and claret styles, markers that still informed wine show judges. The 1976 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon, primarily based on Coonawarra fruit and the first release since the 1969 vintage, relaunched Max Schubert’s 1950s vision for a great claret style based on cabernet sauvignon. In some respects, it was a bit different because it was bolstered with Kalimna fruit to allow the Penfolds house style to shine. There was a string of other great Coonawarra successes, including the 1976 Lindeman’s Limestone Ridge Cabernet Shiraz, the 1980 Lindeman’s St George Cabernet Sauvignon, and the Jimmy Watson Trophy-winning 1976 Wynn’s Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. But it was winemaker John Wade’s new ‘essence of Coonawarra’ vision, the 1982 Wynn’s Coonawarra Estate John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon, that was revolutionary for the time and set a new standard. Not everything in Coonawarra, however, smelled of roses. By the 1980s, Mildara had risen to a prominent position in the Australian wine industry and was renowned for offering consistent excellence, but it became embroiled in a rather public scandal in 1983 regarding the authenticity and provenance of its wines. The outcry centred on the release of the 1981 Mildara JW Classic Cabernet Shiraz, but there was a track record of discrepancies surrounding other famous Mildara wines: the 1951 Mildara Bin 51 Shiraz Cabernet was revealed to be a 100% Reynella Shiraz, and the famous 1963 Mildara Coonawarra ‘Peppermint Pattie’ Cabernet Sauvignon, according to Ian Hickinbotham, was bolstered with Southern Vales wine. The Mildara JW Classic scandal, however, was a very public affair and aired on television, although the ABC’s Four Corners program was seen by some observers, including wine writer Huon Hooke, as a stitch-up. Australia’s public broadcaster accused Mildara of misleading the public. The winery had released two wines from the same parcel that had won the Jimmy Watson Trophy. Both
I think it is worth noting that the official recommendations on clonal selection from the Victorian Department of Agriculture did not include MV6, now recognized as an outstanding clone. Presumably, it was thought that its floppy growth and low cropping characteristics would be unappealing to growers. Maybe the quality of MV6 Pinot Noir wine was not well known at that time. – Dr Richard McIntyre, Moorooduc Estate, 2021
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