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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Drinking window: Drink between 2027 and 2040 (based on 117 user opinions) |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes | | | Tasted by chatters on 8/12/2022: Coonawarra Roadshow (Town Hall, Sydney): Cream, polished oak, sweet spice, concentrated blackcurrant, slight eucalyptus. Juicy, quite Ribena, concentrated black fruit, cream, oak, sweet spice, floury textured tannins. All persists long with non-intrusive alcohol warmth. Hmm. (681 views) |
| Balnaves of Coonawarra Producer website
About Us
Balnaves of Coonawarra vineyard was established in 1975, and is situated at the southern end of the Coonawarra Terra Rossa strip.
The family has been associated with the district since 1855 with the first wines under the Balnaves of Coonawarra label being produced in 1990. We remain fully committed to a high level of 'hands-on' involvement and look forward to sharing our passion with you.
For the eleventh year in a row, the prestigious publication, the James Halliday Wine Companion 2013 has rated Balnaves as a 5-Star winery!
To be selected from over 1740 Australian wineries was an enormous honour and acknowledgment to the commitment of excellence, not only by viticulturalist Pete Balnaves and winemaker Pete Bissell, but the entire Balnaves team."
DOUG BALNAVES,
GENERAL MANAGER
We aim to produce consistently high quality wines from fruit sourced from our own Coonawarra vineyards, reflecting the unique flavours, character and quality of fruit grown in this area, as well as the variation of seasons in this cool climate area.
History
Our first wines were made on a contract basis at a neighbouring winery in 1990 and in 1995 we made the almost inevitable decision to construct our own winery. Our striking new 600 tonne winery was built and in operation for the 1996 vintage.
To build an expandable winery and barrel storage facility, designed to be in harmony with the surrounding Viticultural envelope through seasonal change. The winery was to complement the cellar door and had to be a striking visual element of deliberate form and colour as an enhancement to the landscape. The "bell tower" acts as a local beacon for visitors as well as offering an unprecedented panorama over the Coonawarra Vineyards. What we achieved was all of that and more, and as a result a number of awards have been won for the winery design.
Philosophy
Balnaves wines are 100% Coonawarra, and produced exclusively from fruit grown by the Balnaves Family in Coonawarra.
Our aim is to produce consistently high quality wines from fruit sourced from our own Coonawarra vineyards, reflecting the unique flavours, character and quality of fruit grown in this area, as well as the variation of seasons in this cool climate area.
Our winemaking philosophy is to maximize and build complexity and structure in all the wines. Rather than focus on simple varietal fruit characters, the wines show complex fruit oak and tannin aromas, and rich yet fine palate structures, with noticeable texture as well as flavour on the finish.
Our wines are made to be aged and are best after several years of cellaring. The wines are made to accompany food and are best enjoyed with food, which highlights the mouthfeel qualities which our wines produce.
Our Vineyard
We are a small family owned wine company in the heart of the famous Coonawarra Terra Rossa strip.
Since the planting of the first 5 hectares of vines in 1976, the vineyard has grown steadily and now covers a total of 58 hectares of Coonawarra Terra Rossa soil. The principal variety planted is Cabernet Sauvignon, which accounts for 70% of the area whilst the addition of Merlot, Shiraz, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Chardonnay make up the total vineyard area of 58 hectares.
The vineyard is divided into small blocks of between one and two hectares, which take into account depth of soil, trellis design, vine clone and row direction. The quality of wine produced from these small blocks is evaluated each year and recorded. This practice proves the validity of the French concept of "terrior" or the effect that microclimate; geological features and other factors have on the quality of the wine produced. Such effects are clearly seen in the small Balnaves vineyard at Coonawarra.
2018 Balnaves of Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon The Tally ReserveWine Details
Region Coonawarra, South Australia
Sub Region Coonawarra, South Australia
Vintage 2018
Type
Red Wine
Variety Cabernet Sauvignon
Volume 750ml
Alcohol Volume
14.5%
PH 3.4
Standard Drinks 8.6
Acidity 6.6 g/l
Closure Cork
Background
Among his many pursuits, Doug Balnaves was a shearer of Merino sheep. A shearer in Australia, is paid by the number of sheep he shears. Counted every two hour period, the Tally is recorded in the Tally book. The higher the Tally, the greater the recognition among his peers for skill and hard work. As an expression of this tradition, the Balnaves family see the wine ‘THE TALLY’ as the ultimate achievement for their company.
Vintage Notes
Vintage 2018 was warm and relatively early, with dry conditions and well-matured tannins allowing for wines to be left on skins for extended maceration. Cabernet Sauvignon from the Dead Morris vineyard (92%) was hand-picked and co-fermented with Petit Verdot (8%). Following a 10 day ferment, the Tally had an extended maceration of 16 days on skins before pressing to oak. Matured for 15 months in very fine grain French barriques (40% new).
Tasting Notes
Deep red in colour, the nose has fine lifted red and black fruits, spice and some forest floor leady notes adding complexity. The palate is medium bodied with complex black fruits and a fine tannin structure lending a long supple finish. An elegant expression of a single ferment.Balnaves of Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon The Tally ReserveThe Balnaves vineyard comprises twelve blocks of Cabernet Sauvignon vines of varying acreage and vine age, the oldest planted in 1975. Since the construction of Balnaves winery in 1996, these blocks are divided again into smaller parcels, following soil types and topography, with approximately forty Cabernet Sauvignon fermentations being conducted each vintage.The best of these ferments are set a side during vintage for our Balnaves Cabernet Sauvignon and in outstanding years, Balnaves "The Tally" Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. The Tally illustrates a trend in Coonawarra: a trend to strive beyond that which the region has produced before..."- Campbell MattinsonCabernet SauvignonCabernet Sauvignon is probably the most famous red wine grape variety on Earth. It is rivaled in this regard only by its Bordeaux stablemate Merlot, and its opposite number in Burgundy, Pinot Noir. From its origins in Bordeaux, Cabernet has successfully spread to almost every winegrowing country in the world. It is now the key grape variety in many first-rate New World wine regions, most notably Napa Valley, Coonawarra and Maipo Valley. Wherever they come from, Cabernet Sauvignon wines always seem to demonstrate a handful of common character traits: deep color, good tannin structure, moderate acidity and aromas of blackcurrant, tomato leaf, dark spices and cedarwood.
Used as frequently in blends as in varietal wines, Cabernet Sauvignon has a large number of common blending partners. Apart from the obvious Merlot and Cabernet Franc, the most prevalent of these are Malbec, Petit Verdot and Carmenere (the ingredients of a classic Bordeaux Blend), Shiraz (in Australia's favorite blend) and in Spain and South America, a Cabernet – Tempranillo blend is now commonplace. Even the bold Tannat-based wines of Madiran are now generally softened with Cabernet SauvignonAustralia Wine Australia (Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation) | Australian Wines (Wikipedia)South Australia South Australian Wine Industry Association | South Australian Wines (Wikipedia)Limestone Coast Limestone CoastCoonawarra Coonawarra |
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