Anthony Gismondi: Sue Hodder has rejuvenated famed vineyard Wynns

Article content

Wynns senior winemaker Sue Hodder grew up in Alice Springs, a red earth, hot desert town in Central Australia that is as far from Australia’s most important vineyards as possible. As a child, she was always interested in the country’s call, where agriculture was essential to the land, so it’s no surprise, 31 years and 2,500 kilometres later, she fell in love with the Coonawarra region of South Australia, a cool, cigar-shaped strip of red dirt famous for its Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah and Hodder’s adopted home.

Article content

In between, Hodder attended Adelaide’s Roseworthy Agricultural College, where she really caught the wine bug. A Penfolds’ viticultural scholarship after graduation began her run of impressive achievements and explains a lot about her ultimate success in tending some of Australia’s most iconic vines.

Before settling into Coonawarra (population 58), Hodder secured a working holiday in London’s original Oddbins wine shop and ended her two-year global travels with stops in Bordeaux, California and Margaret River, Western Australia. She arrived in Coonawarra shortly after and began work at the iconic Wynns Coonawarra Estate in 1993. She became the senior winemaker at Wynns in 1998, long before women were even considered for such jobs, and has been a standard-bearer for Australian women in wine ever since.

Hodder characteristically credits her crew for many of the improvements at Wynns. Famed viticulturist Allen Jenkins is responsible for the ambitious program to rejuvenate Wynns’ vineyards, while winemaker Sarah Pidgeon has worked alongside Hodder since 1998. The pair have focused on small parcels of land and small lots of wine complemented with particular fermenting vessels that maximize the footprint of the wine’s terroir.

Article content

The Wynns export lineup is tight in B.C., with two widely listed labels in B.C. liquor stores: the iconic Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon ($41) and the Siding Cabernet Sauvignon ($27). Three other labels to look for in select private wine shops are Wynns Coonawarra Estate Old Vines Shiraz ($22), Wynns Coonawarra Estate Michael Shiraz, and Wynns Coonawarra Estate Chardonnay (see my notes elsewhere in the Weekend Picks).

Wynns is one of those wine brands that is high on my trustworthy list. Hodder and company inherited an Australian treasure from the legendary winemaker Peter Douglas. The property dates back to the late 1800s, but it is safe to say that the wines have never been better.

Coonawarra has always been a special place for wine. Still, over the last 30 years, everybody at Wynns has focused on learning everything possible about its remarkable terra rossa soils and cool climate to uncover its deepest secrets and elevate the quality of all their wines.

While the world seeks answers to the demise of wine sales and the current failure of the wine business to capture a new and younger audience, they need to look no further than Wynn’s model of relentless but slow incremental improvement decade over decade.

Article content

Article content

You can’t put a price on a wine brand you can confidently reach for year in and year out without fear of buying an overpriced, poor bottle of wine.

Weekend wine picks

Wynns Coonawarra Estate Chardonnay 2021, South Australia

$20 I 89/100

UPC: 9300620021913

From an estate more renowned for its reds comes this elegant Chardonnay. The acidity is gentle, but there’s enough to refresh and lift the aromas and flavours of yellow peach and ripe pear. A lovely cashew creaminess coats the palate with a dusting of oak spice. Easy to enjoy.

Wynns Coonawarra Estate Old Vines Shiraz 2019, South Australia

$22 I 91/100

UPC: 9300620002929

Wynns was focused on Shiraz as early as the 1890s and had many privileged sites in Coonawarra. This black label (in a Burgundy bottle) contains a rare fragment from the Undoolya vineyard of the original 1890s fruit colony planting that went in the ground in 1894. You will love the pure Shiraz aromas, mixing violets and blueberries with a whiff of tar. The palate is medium-bodied, pitching silky, fleshy textures with a mix of licorice and spiced plums. Black pepper and chocolate seal the deal. Lamb or a root vegetable casserole would be the match.

Article content

Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon The Siding 2021, South Australia

$24  |  90/100

UPC: 9300620001120

Wynns Siding is an introductory Cabernet well-managed by winemaker Sue Hodder and her team. Having perfected the Black Label to another level, The Siding has found a gap to fill for anyone looking to get acquainted with the style of Coonawarra Cab. It opens with a brush of earth and dried herbs before a rush of soft, round, plummy, blackcurrant fruit takes over. The oak is seamless, offsetting some sticky tannins and bright acidity, while the finish is streaked with cedar, graphite, and menthol notes reminiscent of some parts of Napa and Bordeaux. This is everything you could want for $25, and if you are a beef eater, it will work with any number of dishes, from tacos and burgers to steaks.

Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Black Label 2019, South Australia

$40.99 I 93/100

UPC: 012354052000

The Black Label Coonawarra Cab has been a forever classic and a pet project of winemaker Sue Hodder for decades. From the tiny sliver of land from Coonawarra’s red terra rossa (iron oxide clays over limestone), Hodder created this affordable benchmark from more than 50-year-old organically farmed vines. 2019 was a year to remember in Coonawarra, as evidenced by its ripe cherry, mulberry, blackcurrants, crushed chalk, mint, and sea water flavours, all with Coonawarra dried herb styling. It will age for decades, but it has the class and balance to be drunk any time now.

Article content

Wynns Coonawarra Estate Michael Shiraz 2018, South Australia

$190 I 94/100

UPC: 12354051690

The first Michael was a one-off release in 1955 — back then, it was labelled the Michael Hermitage — made after proprietor David Wynn noticed the outstanding quality of two particular barrels of wine. He ordered them bottled separately and named the wine after his young son. It would be another 35 years before the label was revived in the 1990 vintage under Peter Douglas. It continues from top vineyards in top years under senior winemaker Sue Hodder and her team. The colour is opaque purple, and the nose has an enticing swell of blueberries and classic bay leaf. The palate is surprisingly linear and tight for Shiraz, but fear not, with time, it opens, and its silky tannins take over, supporting a rich mix of red cherries, cloves, and chopped olives. You can age this wine effortlessly into the mid-2030s.

Calendar items

I have always thought everyone in lesser-known wine regions or appellations, such as the Okanagan Valley, should use embossed bottles to alert retailers, restaurants and consumers about the wine’s origins; think the raised keys on an embossed Châteauneuf-du-Pape bottle.

Article content

The Co-op in London, U.K., has launched a stick-on label that looks like a luxury embossed gloss. If you combine that with a super lightweight bottle, something glass embossed bottles can never achieve, and you get a meaningful green product. The label is made by the French company Label’Glass and used in the Co-op’s Collectif Lot Series Minervois 2022. The glass saving is estimated at 140 grams per bottle or some 25 per cent of the weight of a standard embossed bottle. It looks good, saves the planet, and puts your wine on the map. The bottle is fully recyclable like any other.

•••

The Women of Recreation, Tourism & Hospitality (WORTH Association) are planning an amazing evening on Nov. 6: Yes Shef, Elevating Women in Food & Beverage.

Guests will savour delights crafted and curated by 15 female-led teams. At the same time, prominent beverage professionals will serve wine, beer and cocktail creations at multiple tasting stations throughout the Fairmont Pacific Rim’s Star Sapphire Ballroom. The doors open at 5:30 p.m., awards presentation at 8:15 p.m., and the silent auction closes at 9 p.m. There will be live entertainment and dancing at this cocktail-style reception, with some tables and seating available. Tickets are $200 at tickettailor.com.

Article content

B.C. wine of the week

Blue Mountain Reserve Cuvée Pinot Noir 2022, Okanagan Valley

$35 I 92/100

UPC: 626452551220

The 22 Reserve Pinot is a blend of Blue Mountain’s three key Pinot vineyards with vines now averaging 25 years and older with a mix of French clones. It’s undoubtedly one of the best-structured Pinots they have released — silky, rich, dark cherry fruit with a surprising density from front to back and top to bottom. The reserve gets a manual thinning in the vineyard to reduce the crop yield and increase the flavour and weight concentration before wild fermentation. The rest is classic practice: hand-harvested fruit, de-stemmed, placed in open-top fermentation tanks. Post ferment, the lots are blended and aged in new to fourth-fill 228L French oak barrels. At $45, it is easily one of the best in its class in North America. Get it while you can.

Value wine of the week

Devil’s Lair Honeycomb Chardonnay, Western Australia

$19.99 I 90/100

UPC: 9310194002461

Devil’s Lair Honeybomb Chardonnay is the Chardonnay we have all been waiting for. It’s a compilation of all the things we want in a modern Chardonnay while at the same time eliminating all the things we dislike about old-style Chardonnay. The nose engages with a fragrant, ripe freshness, citrus and just the right amount of lees and reduction. The palate is bright and juicy with delicious mineral, honeycomb, and stone fruit covered in citrus before a clean, lip-smacking finish. My bottle disappeared in minutes, and we needed a second one for dinner. Watch out B.C., this is competition.

Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don’t miss the news you need to know — add VancouverSun.com and TheProvince.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here.

You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber: For just $14 a month, you can get unlimited access to The Vancouver Sun, The Province, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Vancouver Sun | The Province.

Article content