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Coonawarra Offers Intriguing Change of Pace from Your Usual Cab

Lo and behold, we are officially one-fourth of the way through 2024. Gulp/gasp.

How’s the year going for you so far? Have you ditched your resolutions yet, or are you still holding strong and leveling up in your life goals? Or did you set “intentions” rather than resolutions?

Most importantly, how many new wines have you tried so far this year – new-to-you grapes, regions, producers, styles? How are you expanding your wine horizons? Deliberately opening up wines from new-to-you places makes for an exciting journey, and it’s usually a lot cheaper than hotels, rental cars, and airfare. 🙂

Let’s take Cabernet Sauvignon. It is the quintessential red wine: bold. Fruity. Tannic. Powerful. Complex. Utterly captivating. Sounds like a leading male character in a bodice ripper! Who can resist its seductive charms?

If you’ve been tasting wine long enough, no doubt you have tried some of the more popular appellations for Cabernet Sauvignon – France (Bordeaux Blends), California, Washington, and many others. There are bajillions of outstanding examples the world over – enough to blog about for 50 lifetimes. And chances are you have your favorite Cabs, I know I do  – for me, Washington, California, and Chile.

But were you aware that Australia is home to some remarkable and distinct Cabernet Sauvignon that is deliciously different from your usual go-to? Maybe you even knew that Shiraz and Chardonnay were some of their top wines, but today, prepare to be pleasantly surprised by their Cabernet Sauvignon!

Now, Australia is a HUGE wine-growing country with TONS of different appellations. Today I am only focusing on one of them, the Coonawarra region.

You may be glancing below at my picture of The Cigar and having images of Al Capone or The Godfather dance through your head. Actually, not quite the reference they were going for. According to Yalumba Winery, “The Cigar is named after the unique cigar-shaped strip of rich red terra rossa soil found only in the Coonawarra.” The soil gets its red color from iron oxide. It is ideal terroir for growing Cabernet Sauvignon, contributing to full body and excellent structure.

No, it does not taste like a cigar….

Here are some facts and my opinions about the
Yalumba The Cigar Cabernet Sauvignon 2018:

• $38.99 at wine.com
• Concentrated, full body, 14% ABV
• Deep ruby, slightly opaque
• Intriguing aromatics on the nose: mint/eucalyptus, floral (violet/lavender), blackberry, plum, hay, strawberry cream, black currant
• Flavors: black currant, plum, cherry
• Luscious, nice level of acidity
• Strong fruit but it’s not center stage, more of a supporting character on the side
• Beautiful tannins that are powerful, strong, and gripping but fine
• Beautiful acidity that comes back up and around in your mouth so you keep craving another sip
• Excellent, long, complex finish

This was a fascinating wine to try and I would gladly recommend it. Consider it a challenge to change up your usual red wine routine and dig into Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon!

Fun fact: did you know that the eucalyptus notes you often get in Australian reds are due to actual oils from nearby leaves blowing onto the vineyards? Strangely enough, the aroma compounds do end up in the wine!

Terroir.

Magical.