Wynnsday returns with an impressive collection

It is hard to think of a wine producer that can match Wynns Coonawarra Estate for quality and value across the board.

Winemakers Sue Hodder and Sarah Pidgeon consistently over deliver on both counts - and the new releases for Wynnsday on June 3 do not disappoint.

The new releases are composed, complete and effortlessly stylish.

Wynnsday has been - for several decades - the day Wynns Coonawarra Estate releases its new vintage luxury wines.

I remember attending one at the winery when Peter Douglas was the chief winemaker - so the late 80s or early 90s.

The 2026 Wynnsday Collection features eight wines across three vintages from a range of vineyards.

This year’s release is headlined by the return of the very elegant V&A Lane Shiraz and Cabernet Shiraz blend, along with the debut Cabernet Shiraz, to the stellar Wynns Black Label range.

Wynns senior winemaker Sue Hodder (above) says the three very different vintages in the 2026 Wynnsday Collection - 2023, 2024, and 2025 - are testament to the quality and versatility of Wynns terra rossa vineyards and their ability to produce superb medium-bodied, cool-climate wines year on year.

“From the cooler, wet 2023 vintage we welcome the O’Dea's Single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, representing the next gen of Wynns Cabernet vineyards," says Hodder. who has been in charge since 1998.

"Each year our winemaking team selects a premium parcel from a single cabernet vineyard to bottle separately, and that year O’Dea's excelled. This vineyard was originally planted in 1989 and later replanted to a selection of Wynns heritage cuttings and some new and interesting clones. We have been delighted to see these younger vines flourish in wet conditions and to bring this elegant wine to Wynnsday."

The 2024 reds are outstanding.

“2024 was a classic Coonawarra vintage, from which we crafted five stellar reds," says Hodder. "We are thrilled to see our V&A Lane Shiraz and Cabernet Shiraz wines return in superb form.

"Crafted by Sarah Pidgeon, they continue to set the benchmark for fresh, spicy, and naturally moderate alcohol red wine, sitting at only 12.6% each."

It's hard to pick a favourite, but I can't think of a better $45 bottle right now than Wynns 2024 The Original Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon.

Coonawarra is synonymous with high-quality cabernets and this one hits the bullseye for composed quality. It has lovely structure, elegant tannins, balanced oak, and impressive length. It is immediately accessible and deadly drinkable.

Youthful inclusions are the 2025 Black Label Messenger Chardonnay and the Single Vineyard Cabernet Franc - both are delicious despite their relative adolescence.

The 2026 Wynnsday Collection comprises: Wynns O’Deas Single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2023, RRP $80, Wynns MacKillop Single Vineyard Cabernet Franc 2025, RRP $80, Wynns V&A Lane Cabernet Shiraz 2024, RRP $60, Wynns V&A Lane Shiraz 2024, RRP $60, Wynns Black Label The Original Cabernet Sauvignon 2024, RRP $45, Wynns Black Label Old Vines Shiraz 2024, RRP $45
Wynns Black Label Cabernet Shiraz 2024, RRP $45 and Wynns Black Label Messenger Chardonnay 2025, RRP $45

All the wines are released on Wednesday. See www.wynns.com.au and fine wine retailers across Australia.

Wynnsday wines mark a major milestone

Wynns Coonwarra Estate winemakers Sue Hodder (right) and Sarah Pidgeon (left) make a formidable pair, always producing wines of interest at fair prices.

This week's 2023 Wynnsday Collection - to be released on Wednesday, June 7 - marks Hodder's 30th vintage at the prestige estate. 

The new release comprises five elegant, medium-bodied Coonawarra red wines from what senior winemaker Hodder describes as "the outstanding 2021 vintage".

Hodder, who joined Wynns in 1993, said the new collection reflect what is destined to be a classic vintage.

Wynnsday 2023 is headlined by the 66th vintage of one of Australia’s most cellared wines, Wynns Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon, and also sees the return of Black Label ‘Old Vines’ Shiraz. 

The Glengyle Vineyard north of V&A Lane was selected as our single vineyard release in 2007, 2009 and now in 2021. 

Pidgeon, meanwhile, has made early picked cabernet and cabernet shiraz wines from the estate V&A Lane vineyards.

“The heralded 2021 vintage was cool and there was low rainfall, and no extreme heat or cold," Hodder says. "The wines have a noticeable iridescence to their colours and a similar vibrancy and depth of flavour. 

"The 2021 vintage is one that we are very proud of and one that will be cellared in Australia and indeed around the world." 

The 2023 Wynnsday Collection comprises:

Wynns Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon 2021; Always a favourite and a wine that offers exceptional value and reliable cellaring potential. Dark with cassis-like fruit this vintage is exceptionally elegant. $44.99

Wynns Black Label ‘Old Vines’ Shiraz 2021: A very stylish representation of cooler-climate shiraz that includes fruit from vines planted as far back as 1890. A wine of impeccable balance. $$44.99

Wynns Glengyle Single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2021: The definite star of the show as the best single vineyard cabernet of the year. Inky, deeply flavoured and very varietal. $79.99

Wynns V&A Lane Shiraz 2021: This manages to be at once powerfully ripe fruited, and elegant and is made from some of the first vines to ripen each season. $59.99

Wynns V&A Lane Cabernet Shiraz 2021: The two stellar grape varieties in the region are blended  in a classic "Claret" style. Grapes were harvested on the same day and then co-fermented. Red fruits and just 12.% alcohol. $59.99

Eagle-eyed readers will note the absence of the flagship Wynns John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon. 

The 2020 vintage will be launched globally in September as part of Bordeaux's prestige La Place market offering. 

The 2023 Wynnsday Collection is on sale from Wednesday from wynns.com.au and fine wine retailers. 

Major milestone for Coonawarra wine legend

The winds of change have blown vigorously through the wine industry during the 30 years that Sue Hodder has been a winemaker at iconic Wynns Coonawarra Estate.

Climate change, different wine fashions, the acceptance of women winemakers and very different styles of marketing have all occurred during the three decades Hodder has spent crafting thoughtful cool-climate wines, almost a quarter of a decade as head winemaker.

Then there is the switch from cork to screw caps, higher quality oak and far greater attention to what happens in the vineyards.

Hodder's long stint comes despite other opportunities, a fleeting desire to craft wines from her own vines and the tendency for winemakers to seek pastures new after a few years at the one address.

The release this week of a quartet of premium Wynns red wines marks 30 years of Hodder and 40 years of John Riddoch Cabernet, one of Australia's most globally respected high-end wines and a relative bargain at $150 a bottle compared to many rival releases with far inferior pedigrees.

Hodder took over from legendary Peter Douglas as Wynns senior winemaker and has spent over two decades working in tandem with friend and colleague Sarah Pidgeon in a rare all-female winemaking team.

"I find great satisfaction in the fact that we are able to produce quality cooler-climate wines that are collectable, but also accessible and affordable," she says.

"When I started at Wynns in the early 1990s, the fashion was very much towards big, rich, powerful red wines that appealed to the critics of that time, and I'm delighted that medium-bodied wines like the ones that we produce in Coonawarra are very much back in vogue.

"A lot of people dipped into their cellars over the pandemic and it has been gratifying to recieve so much feedback on how some of the older wines have rewarded the people who looked after them, often for decades."

Hodder says that after 30 vintages at Wynns she still enjoys her role, and being part of a close-knit team.

“I still have great joy in walking out the back door to our historic triple-gabled winery,” she says. "While this beautiful building remains largely untouched, we do now use smaller tanks, oak fermenters, different oak barrels, and an optical berry sorter.

"These winemaking tools just enable us to be more confidently creative.

"Our winemaking team has had remarkably few changes over the years – we are a family at Wynns, and our house style remains clear.”

That house style is, for me, confident elegance.

Hodder's wines are always well balanced, impressively structured and immediately accessible, while often destined for a long haul in the cellar.

Hodder grew up in Alice Springs and began her wine career as a viticulturist before moving into winemaking. She joined Wynns in 1993 as a winemaker under the guidance of the ebullient Douglas before being appointed senior winemaker in 1998.

She was named a Fellow of the Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology (ASVO) in 2021 for her outstanding contribution to the Australian wine industry.

I ask her why she has not been tempted, as so many winemakers are, to strike out on her own with a small plot of land and her own label.

"I've been tempted, but I love it here and working with our special team," she says. "I would have lost access to some great vineyards, great viticultural support and our high-tech lab.

"I like being part of a page in history, and Wynns certainly has that great history."



Over 40 years of Wynns John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon it has been hailed as one of just a handful of truly great Australian wines and is named after the pioneer who first plated the vineyards back in 1891.

The new-release 2019 is one of the greatest; judiciously utilising great fruit to produce a stunning wine. I gave it 98 points, and I'm generally at the lower end of the scorings table. It has intense fruit concentration but also a brightness and lightness about it.

John Riddoch Cabernet is made using the top 1% of all the fruit from estate and grower vineyards, many of them decades old.

“The 2019 John Riddoch is certainly amongst the best wines we have made at Wynns Coonawarra Estate," says Hodder. "It was a brilliant vintage and has produced a fine and medium-bodied wine from an optimal growing season.”

The other wines in the 2022 Wynns Premium Release launching on Wednesday are the superb-value 2020 Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon ($50), and the 2019 vintages of the Michael Shiraz ($150) and the Davis Single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon ($80), that uses fruit sourced from Hodder’s favourite vineyard. All are of exemplary quality.

# Wynns Coonawarra Estate was established in 1951 with history dating back to the late 1800s. It is the region's pre-eminent wine producer, and largest single vineyard holder.

See www.wynns.com.au

Wynns heads in an unexpected direction

Take another look. Your eyes are not deceiving you. 

Meet a colourful new wine range from Wynns Coonawarra Estate, reliably excellent producers of fine wines, but also traditional and quite conservative. 

The mainstay of Wynns is the classic gables labels - and a range of stellar cabernet-driven reds. But the winery has released a new tier of wines that represent a creative renaissance of Wynns’ pioneering years.

Dubbed "Reframed", the tier comprises four new wines that are described as "an artistic, contemporary take on classic Wynns’ varietals, styles, winemaking, and wine occasions". 

“Our new Reframed wines give us licence to approach varieties in different ways using unusual varietal combinations for Coonawarra and the Limestone Coast,” says Wynns winemaker Sarah Pidgeon.

“We’re taking the knowledge and experience of the Wynns team and putting a modern twist on our traditional winemaking practices by exploring new ways to express our beautiful grapes. We’re picking earlier for freshness with barbecues, beaches, picnics, and casual occasions in mind. 

"We’re blending in unexpected ways to build interest and texture, and we’re bringing a lighter touch to winemaking by using little or no oak to maintain the freshness and aromatics of each wine.

“As the Coonawarra region’s pre-eminent wine producer, we’re pushing boundaries to innovate and create new varietals that spark intrigue and are either unique or hard to find, attracting a new generation of wine explorers. But rest assured, the quality of these wines is classic Wynns.” 

The "Reframed" wines are: Wynns 2021 Reframed Coonawarra Cabernet Rosé: Wynns 2021 Reframed Limestone Coast Fiano, Pinot Grigio, Arneis 2021; Wynns 2021 Reframed Coonawarra ‘Rogue Vines’ Shiraz Riesling 2021 and Wynns Reframed 2021 Coonawarra Cabernet Franc/Cabernet Sauvignon. 

My take: I was sent samples of the Fiano/Grigio/Arneis blend and the Shiraz/Riesling to try and must say they are unlike any Wynns wines I have tried before; thoroughly modern in style. 

Both are light-hearted without being lightweight; immediately accessible and ready to enjoy on release.

The slightly rebellious Italian white blend is both fresh and textural and would pair well albacore tuna and eggplant, while I matched the idiosyncratic floral and energetic shiraz/riesling with a veal stew and turmeric rice. Unusual, but excellent. 

These wines are perhaps not for traditional Wynns drinkers, but they open up the brand to a younger audience. 

Coonawarra viticulturist has triple reasons to celebrate

Ben Harris from Wynns Coonawarra Estate has three reasons to celebrate. 

Not only has Harris been named the 2021 ASVO Viticulturist of the Year at the Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology Awards for Excellence, he also been appointed to take over the management of the Wynns viticulture team. 

After joining in 2010 as a vineyard manager, he steps into the shoes of industry stalwart Allen Jenkins who retired last month after a 20-year tenure. 

Colin Bell, 2021 ASVO Viticulturist of the Year Advisory Committee Chair, said: “Ben Harris is one of the most respected and regarded viticulturists in the industry. He has a massive role but still finds the time to push viticultural excellence, offer his time to industry and, most inspiringly, offer his time to young individuals starting their journey. 

"Technical projects like data-based harvest predictions, virus elimination, and robotics make Ben’s contribution highly relevant and essential to the industry. What really stood out was his commitment, integrity, and contribution outside of his role and his great ASVO values and leadership style.”

The news follows the announcement in September that Ben has been selected to participate as a 2022 Len Evans Tutorial Scholar.

 

It’s also the second honour to be bestowed upon Wynns by the ASVO this week. Senior winemaker Sue Hodder was announced as a Fellow of the ASVO in recognition of her particularly outstanding and meritorious contribution to the grape and wine industry and to the society.

The 2021 ASVO Winemaker of the year was Alex Cassegrain from Cassegrain Wines in the Hastings River region of  New South Wales. 

He grew up in the vineyard and worked in the Cassegrain family winery, with a hands-on learning approach to the time-honoured winemaking practices that have been passed down through the generations.

Hey, hey it's Wynnsday

Lovers of  balanced, cellar worthy, medium-bodied red wines have today's date marked on their calendars. 

Sue Hodder and the Wynns Coonawarra Estate team launch their new annual premium releases on Wynnsday - and the wines certainly live up to expectations with a spectacular Wynns Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon heading the value parade.

Established in 1951 with history dating back to the late 1800s, Wynns Coonawarra Estate is the region's pre-eminent wine producer, and largest single vineyard holder. 

Its wines are regarded as benchmarks for the district; lauded for both their consistent quality and depth of flavour.

Hodder says the collection released today reflects "a golden era" at the estate.

“Wynnsday 2021 sees the return of our flagship wines, John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon and Michael Shiraz from the acclaimed, warmer 2018 vintage," Hodder says. 

"Additionally, our single-vineyard wine from 2018 is made from our oldest cabernet vineyard - Johnsons. 

"That said, 2019 was an equally lauded vintage – more elegant and a worthy style to contrast with 2018. 

"The Black Label Shiraz and Black Label Cabernet will be strong vintages in vertical tastings of these iconic labels." 

Also, Sarah Pidgeon has made finely-structured, early picked wines from the Wynns V and A Lane vineyards in 2019.

“The two release vintages - 2018 and 2019 - are as strong a pair I have seen in my 30 years at Wynns," Hodder says. 

The bargain buy is undoubtedly the Black Label 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon ($45). 

First produced in 1954, this wine has a reputation for ageing gracefully and displaying excellent varietal and regional characteristics. It is already lovely and well balanced and will grace many cellars for years to come. 

Another standout for me is V&A Lane 2019 Cabernet Shiraz ($60), a delightful blend to send heartbeats racing. Everything with in its place here. Hugely impressive.

The star of the show, not unexpectedly, is the 2018 vintage Wynns Coonawarra Estate John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon ($150)

First made in 1982, the John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon is Wynns flagship wine. It is made in small quantities from the best available fruit grown on the estate's extensive cabernet sauvignon plantings. Brambly and intense. One for the cellar, for sure

The collection is available now from fine wine retailers across Australia.

The full line-up is:Black Label Cabernet & Shiraz 2019, V&A Lane Cabernet Shiraz & Shiraz 2019, Johnsons single vineyard Cabernet 2018, Michael Shiraz 2018, John Riddoch Cabernet 2018

 See www.wynns.com.au

Leading viticulturist pulls up stumps

Great wines are often made by a team. 

In the case of Wynns Coonawarra Estate, that team comprises winemaker Sue Hodder, her offsider Sarah Pidgeon and viticulturist Allen Jenkins. 

But that team is about to be split up with today's announcement that Jenkins will retire following this year’s Wynnsday collection release on Wednesday. 

Jenkins has spent 20 years working on the many vineyards that Wynns has in the Coonawarra region. 

“It is incredibly rewarding to have led Wynns’ talented viticultural team for the past 20 years," he said. 

"We have a profound respect for our heritage, each other, and the precious environment that is Coonawarra. 

"There is an intense focus on the needs of the vines, on implementing new and courageous viticultural techniques, and on unravelling the endlessly complex web of interactions involved in growing the perfect grape.”

Hodder, who has worked with Jenkins for two decades, says: “Allen has literally transformed the landscape in Coonawarra though his viticultural efforts. Furthermore, he has had an impact on the way we think about everything from the history to the land and certainly the wines. A profound contribution and a massive legacy."

Jenkins helped craft vines that allowed Hodder to craft wines of greate finesse and elegance. 

In 2010, in recognition of his contribution to viticulture at Wynns he was joint recipient, with Sue Hodder, of the Gourmet Traveller WINE’Winemaker of the Year award.

He has also helped nurture the careers of many of today’s wine industry leaders. 

Stay tuned for a review of the new Wynns releases later this week.