Lindeman’s St. George Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Limestone Ridge Vineyard Shiraz Cabernet and Pyrus Cabernet blend make up the Lindeman’s Coonawarra Trio. These wines represent the epitome of Lindeman’s premium winemaking heritage and four decades of red wine making in Coonawarra, South Australia.
Individually, each wine in the Coonawarra Trio is a distinguished example of its style of Cabernet Sauvignon: Pyrus offers a traditional blend; Limestone Ridge delivers the quintessential Australia Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon blend, while St. George is purely Cabernet Sauvignon.
Collectively, the Coonawarra Trio comprises a group that is truly representative of one of Australia’s most prestigious Cabernet Sauvignon regions and a coveted addition to the cellars of serious wine collectors at home and abroad.
Varietal | Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon |
---|---|
Vintage | 2018 |
Country | Australia |
Region | Coonawarra |
Volume | 750 mL |
Closure | Screw Cap |
Alc/Vol | 13.7% |
Peak Drinking | Now - 2032 |
Winemaker | Brett Sharpe |
Bronze | 2022 Sydney Wine Show |
93 Points | Mike Bennie |
"A delightful, fuller, rich and concentrated red. Lots of forest berry scents, some gravelly-earthy notes, tobacco and bay leaf whiffs and faint choc-mint. Flavours in that zone, feels concentrated but juicy, a thick soup shaped with a web of firm, al dente tannins and finishes choc-mint-cherry and lightly gummy. A little less serious feeling than St George and Pyrus from 2018, but the one to get stuck into first, and still high quality." - Mike Bennie
Mulberry and blackberry fruit with black pepper and sweet spice, subtle florals highlighted by coffee grinds oak.
Coonawarra, on South Australia’s Limestone Coast, is a flat, isolated region almost mid-point between Adelaide and Melbourne. The area enjoys a cool maritime climate - similar to that of Bordeaux - and is renowned for its unique terra rossa soil. Rich, rust coloured soils… crimson sunburnt faces… magenta sunsets: this is red wine country! While Coonawarra is famous for its rich, minty Cabernet, the area also produces Shiraz and Merlot and surprisingly good Chardonnay and Riesling.
From a seasonal point of view, April to July 2014 provided an excellent start with average winter rainfall which set us up for an even budburst with good soil moisture. Spring however was not typical, being very dry and one of Coonawarra’s warmest, with temperatures 2.5 degrees above average advancing flowering in November by about 2 weeks. Fortunately the warm and dry flowering promoted a fast and even berry set, similar to other excellent seasons, for example: 2001, 2004 and 2010. This warm flowering has provided even maturity at harvest with no green berries. Yields overall are on the moderate side due to lower bunch numbers.
Very dry conditions continued through December, consequently berries have remained small with thick skins. Ripening was set up perfectly with the vines receiving a refreshing drink of 90mm of rain in mid-January.
Coonawarra’s summer, in contrast to the spring, has been a classic, with warm days and cool nights, strongly influenced by the January upwelling of the deep, cold coastal waters….around 5 degrees colder than those of Adelaide. This provided a long and cool ripening, ideal for Cabernet Sauvignon. This is surprising to many who have seen the very early vintage in the rest of the state. Based on the mild summer, and consequently long ripening period, we have made elegant Shiraz and strong Cabernet. Pleasingly, we are seeing bright fruit, varietal definition and intense colour. 2015 is a strong tannin vintage which, at this early stage, will translate into wines that have excellent cellaring potential.
Brett has been involved with wine for almost thirty years, has degrees in winemaking and viticulture from Charles Sturt University and has spent the last 20 years in Coonawarra. He was made winemaker for Lindeman’s Coonawarra Trio in 2005 and with two single vineyard wines in the Trio range, he places enormous importance on the vineyard.