Wynnsday

It is time for the 2010 Wynns wines to shine - and shine they did.

The 2010 Wynns Black Label Shiraz is the first Shiraz bottled under the black label. This is no accident. The fruit for this high volume wine is excellent. The blackberry flavours are rich with good depth of fruit and a dry finish. This is a well made wine, not as big as a Barossa Shiraz, but with more weight than the classic cool climate Shirazes from Victoria (92 points).

The 2010 Wynns Cabernet Sauvignon was weaker by comparison. Maybe a lot of the best fruit went into the higher prices wines. The wine has the typical black- and redcurrant flavours, but is a bit coarse on the palate (89 points).

The real highlight is the 2010 Wynns Messenger Cabernet Sauvignon. This single vineyard wine comes from the Southern Coonawarra, where the famous terra rossa soil is especially deep. This is the first time since 1985 that this block has been bottled separately. The flavours are very vibrant and pristine. Mulberry and mint dominate, but the real highlight for me are the silky and very seductive tannins. Really good drinking now, but will also age well (95 points).

The 2010 Wynns Michael Shiraz is a step up in fruit intensity, but unfortunately also in oak treatment. The structure of the wine promises long aging potential and I would certainly put this wine down for at least seven years for the wine to mellow and show its potential (93 points).

The 2010 Wynns John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon is a slight disappointment at the moment. It is rich on the palate, but very tight and closed. Underneath, there is good linearity on the palate, and I think this wine will come together, but it would have been better to have it released two years later (93 points).