THE AUSTRALIAN ARK – Federation to the Modern Era | 1900–1982
were called JW Classic, one back-labelled with its trophy-winning credentials, the other without. Mildara actually had not done anything wrong from a legal perspective, but stretching the truth, or the wine, from a historical perspective, seems to be a theme in Mildara’s legacy. Penfolds also stopped entering Grange into wine shows, largely because it is such a distinctive style that most wine judges could spot it easily in a blind tasting, so they felt there was nothing further to be gained. This was perhaps illustrated by the poor wine show results of the 1976 Grange, a wine that Max Schubert regarded as a classic Grange vintage, which eventually, as a mature wine, became one of Robert Parker’s 100-point wines. This story exemplifies the challenge of the wine show system, in which unconscious and conscious bias can riddle the results. Wines easy to recognise, like the 1970 Lindeman’s Bin 3875 Chablis, always got through the gate in the 1980s and would continue to do so in the 1990s, creating an artificial sense of achievement. . . .
1982 WYNN’S COONAWARRA ESTATE JOHN RIDDOCH CABERNET SAUVIGNON Coonawarra, South Australia
The groundbreaking 1982 Wynn’s Coonawarra Estate John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon created huge excitement when released. This essence of the Coonawarra style, based on older blocks of Coonawarra terra rossa vineyards, possessed a concentrated richness of flavour and ripeness rarely seen before in Coonawarra wines. There was conjecture at the time that the wine had a high proportion of drainings, which accentuated volume and density. Winemaker John Wade had previously asked for more investment in new oak, and this wine was a beneficiary of 100% new-oak maturation. In some respects, this wine was also a reaction to the leafier styles being pushed forward by Brian Croser. The ageing potential of this wine was immediately recognised, and its performance to date has more than fulfilled those expectations. This style of winemaking foreshadowed ripe and generous expressions of Coonawarra cabernet.
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