Australia

Coonawarra

Australia wine regions

About Coonawarra

Coonawarra is just terra rossa over limestone, a thin strip of red soil in the cool corner of South Australia, and yet it grows some of the most distinctive Cabernet outside Bordeaux. The signature is unmistakable: cassis, cool mint, pencil shavings, leafy tobacco, and a structured tannin that ages forever. John Riddoch planted the first vines in 1890, but the modern Coonawarra was built by Wynns from the 1950s onward. The wines that followed (Penfolds Bin 707, Parker First Growth, Lindemans St George) set the benchmarks for Australian Cab. The famous boundary fight of the early 2000s went all the way to the Federal Court, with growers off the red soil arguing for inclusion. The court drew the line at the dirt. Names to know: Wynns, Parker, Penley, Bowen, Balnaves, Majella.

Australia wine regions

Vintages

20 · 2005–2024

Rating:

95+

90-94

85-89

80-84

<80

PeakReadyHold

Year	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013	2012	2011	2010	2009	2008	2007	2006	2005
Red

Outstanding Coonawarra Vintages

The best recent vintages rated excellent or exceptional.

Red

2024

Ready

95Exceptional

Early reports point to a high-quality vintage with a mild, dry summer and clean ripening. Cabernet looks particularly strong.

2023

Ready

94Excellent

Cool and late vintage following a wet spring. Cabernets are perfumed and medium-bodied with fine tannin, classic Coonawarra in profile.

2022

Ready

96Exceptional

Outstanding vintage. Even ripening, low disease pressure and excellent tannin ripeness produced concentrated, age-worthy Cabernet.

2021

Ready

97Exceptional

Widely seen as a great vintage across South Australia. Coonawarra Cabernet shows depth, length and classic graphite-cassis aromatics.

2020

Ready

93Excellent

Smaller crop after frost and a dry season. Wines are concentrated but tightly structured; the best are excellent but yields were down.

2019

Ready

92Excellent

Hot and dry growing season. Cabernet is riper and more generous than the regional norm, with the best producers managing tannins well.

2018

Ready

96Exceptional

Excellent vintage. Long, even ripening produced powerful yet balanced Cabernet with strong ageing potential.

2017

Ready

93Excellent

Cool, late vintage with elegant, fragrant Cabernet. Lower alcohols and bright acidity make these wines a favourite of traditionalists.

2016

Ready

95Exceptional

Warm, generous vintage. Cabernet shows ripe black fruit, plush tannins and good concentration.

2015

Ready

94Excellent

Smaller crop, high quality. Cabernet is concentrated with classic mint and cassis lift.

2014

Ready

93Excellent

Cool to mild season. Medium-bodied, savoury Cabernet with fine tannin and good freshness.

2013

Ready

94Excellent

Warm vintage with healthy yields. Generous, ripe Cabernet with plenty of fruit weight.

2012

Ready

96Exceptional

A standout vintage. Long, even ripening produced powerful, structured Cabernet that is ageing very well.

2010

Ready

96Exceptional

Excellent vintage following the breaking of the long drought. Cabernets are deeply coloured, concentrated and built for long cellaring.

2009

Ready

91Excellent

Hot, dry vintage with a late-season heat spike. Riper and more forward style; the best wines are good but lack the freshness of 2010 or 2012.

2008

Ready

90Excellent

Warm vintage with an extreme March heatwave in parts of South Australia. Coonawarra was less affected than Barossa; wines are ripe but variable.

2006

Ready

95Exceptional

Excellent vintage. Cabernet is classic in style with cassis, mint and firm but ripe tannins.

2005

Ready

94Excellent

Cool, long growing season produced elegant, structured Cabernet with bright acidity. Best wines still have life ahead.

On the map

Climate

MaritimeCoolLong ripeningFrost-prone

Cooler and cloudier than its latitude suggests, with the Southern Ocean sending maritime air across dead-flat country to slow the ripening right down. That same flatness makes spring frost a genuine threat, but the payoff is a long, dry, even autumn in which Cabernet can take its time.

Terroir

Terra rossaLimestoneCool maritimeIron-rich

The famous strip is barely 15 kilometres long and a couple wide: friable, iron-rich terra rossa loam, often only half a metre deep, over soft porous limestone. The red soil drains freely while the limestone below holds a shallow water table within reach of the roots, a balancing act no other Australian region quite replicates.

Typical Aromas

BlackcurrantMintEucalyptusCedarTobaccoGraphite

Explore the aroma wheel