2019 Wynns Cabernet Sauvignon John Riddoch Limited Release Coonawarra 750 ml

Imagine you know of a Cabernet Sauvignon whose quality compares with the best in the world. Now imagine that few outside the country where it’s produced even know it exists—which means you can buy it for a TINY fraction of what it might fetch if it bore a household name.

Wynns’ 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon John Riddoch Limited Release is that wine. 

“This is why we drink wine: To taste the place that it came from and to be transported there,” said Wine Advocate’s review of the 2019, which earned a staggering 97+ points—the highest given to an Australian Cab from that vintage. 

This wine only gets made in great vintages, using the top 1% of all the Cabernet grown on the estate, which author Andrew Caillard MW called “an Australian First Growth.”

Scottish immigrant John Riddoch, the original founder of Wynns Coonawarra Estate, planted the original vineyards in 1891. The Wynn family of wine merchants purchased the winery in 1951, and Wynns now stands as the largest and best producer in Coonawarra.

This Cabernet is a parcel and barrel selection narrowed down from as many as 16 of Wynns’ top sites. The final blend includes fruit from just 2–3 vineyards and, refreshingly, is raised in only about 31% new French oak.

Caillard also wrote, “The generational work behind the label is extraordinary. It is steeped in one of the great agricultural ambitions of the 19th century and it has earned its place as one of Australia’s greatest Cabernet Sauvignons through nearly four decades of modern vintages.” Just as the original 1982 bottling is still going strong today, the 2019 has the potential to drink beautifully into its forties as well!