Description
Balnaves are a small family owned wine company in the heart of the famous Coonawarra Terra Rossa strip. First started in 1976, the vineyard has grown steadily and now covers a total of 56 hectares of Coonawarra Terra Rossa soil – the principal variety planted is Cabernet Sauvignon, which accounts for 70% with the remainder taken up by Merlot, Shiraz, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Chardonnay. 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.
This is very smart – great intensity, bright with a hint of mintiness..
96 Points; Nick Stock; SMH and The Age Good Wine Guide 2013 “What a wine! This has to be one of the best-value Cabernet wines on the market. It has concentrated and focused black fruit aromas, gentle spice, leaves, chalk, cedary oak and the right amount of vanillin in the mix. The palate ripples with concentrated flavours, again in the black fruit spectrum; the tannins are spectacular, compact and powerful, long and compelling.”
94 Points; James Halliday, Wine Companion “A 92/8% blend that spent 17 months in new and used French oak from topflight coopers; the crimson colour leads into a bouquet and palate with blackcurrant and cassis to the fore; the oak adds to both texture and flavour, but it is the lifted fruit on the finish that really puts the stamp of quality on the wine.”
2012 South Australian Hot 100
RRP $31
