Ranked #10 of 44 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon from Coonawarra
96/100
5 Stars
Huon Hooke
Deep, dark, dense red-purple colour. Slightly subdued fruit, with toasty-barrel oak and savoury characters to the fore on the nose. Slightly roasted fruit character, not really bright varietal notes. Dense and almost thick in the mouth; concentrated and fleshy, with loads of mouth-coating tannins and a savoury finish. Big wine and solid, not as elegant as some recent Riddochs, perhaps, but a product of the hot year. Will cellar well and long.
Tasted: 05/08/2011
Drink: 2011 to 2030
97 Points James Halliday
A fascinating contrast to the Davis Single Vineyard; I never expected a young John Riddoch to be elegant and silky, but this is, its intense blackcurrant and cassis fruit caressing the mouth and drawing out the saliva. Less than 1% of Wynns Coonawarra cabernet goes to make this wine. Drink to 2033.
Source: James Halliday. January, 2011
They’ve been making this since (the stellar) 1982, though it is only produced from the best years. It represents (less than) the top 1 percent of Wynns’ Coonawarra cabernet crop. It’s matured in all French oak – a range of new, one year and two year old – over 22 months.
John Riddoch was once a dense, heavy wine – but those days are long gone. It’s now a measured, medium-bodied cabernet in the classical mould. It’s both elegant and fully ripe. It tastes of bright, pure blackcurrant and spunky – almost flashy – creamy/spicy oak. There are notes of violet, olive tapanade and chocolate too and maybe a trace of dust. Tannin is not wrenching or excessive but it builds admirably given exposure to air. Good persistence. Class all over. High chance that it will rate higher given time to mature.
Rated : 94+ Points
Alcohol : 14%
Closure : Screwcap
Drink : 2016 - 2024+
Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front, 10 August 2011