Wynns Coonawarra Estate - John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
99/100
Decanter
96+/100
Robert Parker
95+/100
Vinous
95/100
James Suckling
"An Australian icon!"
“The 2016 John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon Classic is so lovely, but don’t be fooled—it’s alsobuilt to last. Beautifully bright and fragrant, it displays impeccable fruit purity with aromas of graphite, blackcurrant, and green leaves, underpinned by subtle French oak. It then builds layers of blackcurrant and gravel flavors with fantastic composure and fruit concentration, leading to a long, engaging finish. Truly well-balanced, this beautiful combination of subtlety, concentration, and structure is impressive. Ready to drink now but will continue to improve over the next two decades.” (Vinous 2022) - Delivered in a wooden case for any order of 6 bottles of this wine (excluding “Pickup Point” delivery method)
Buy your Wynns Coonawarra Estate wines at the best price through a private sale!
Starting at €99 on your first order
Eye
Intense red and black with great brilliance and depth
Nose
Pure, concentrated, and refined. A beautiful balance between acidity and freshness will allow it to age gracefully for 30 years.
Palate
The sumptuous, juicy flavors of ripe blackcurrant blend with a smoothness reminiscent of French oak mocha. Beautifully textured. A subtle hint of tannins frames the powerful fruit, displaying all the hallmarks of a great John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon worth cellaring.
Serve
At 16-8°C
Open
1 hour before
Drink starting at
2022
Drink before
2040
Food and Wine Pairings
Enjoy it with a Kobe beef tenderloin, duck breast with figs...
Decanter
Wine rated (2020 guide) 99/100
About the wine:
A wealth of lean, muscular notes transforms into a symphony of flavors: blackcurrant and chocolate, sage, plum, and espresso, all bound together by a graphite-like tannic grip. Hailing from a drier vintage, the density of the fruit’s body is synonymous with intensity, and the clarity of the flavors lingers and resonates long after the final note. Think of that final piano chord in the Beatles’ “A Day in the Life.” Captivating! 2020–2050
Robert Parker - Wine Advocate
Wine rated (2022 guide) 96+/100 (Extraordinary wine)
About the wine:
Year after year, these wines from John Riddoch are becoming more approachable and supple upon release. Coonawarra, Australia, has a reputation for producing Cabernet Sauvignons with extraordinary aging potential—wines that aren’t necessarily easy to drink early on. Well, these modern wines buck that trend. The refined oak program has actually helped to support and elevate the fruit rather than weigh it down. This is the result of many years of research and hard work by the Wynns team, particularly winemaker Sarah Pigeon. So let’s get to the wine. This 2016 John Riddoch Limited Release Cabernet Sauvignon offers five-spice notes, blackberry, raspberry, salty licorice, clove, tobacco leaf, a hint of nag champa incense, jasmine tea, and a brilliant finish—I wrote the note about the finish. These wines should be judged by their balance and their aging potential. In this case, also by its beauty as a young wine. Drink it now, but you’ll be better off exercising a little patience and drinking it from 2026 through the late 2040s and beyond.
Vinous
Wine rated (2022 guide) 95+/100
About the wine:
The classic 2016 John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon is so lovely, but don’t be fooled—it’s also built to last. Beautifully bright and fragrant, it displays impeccable fruit purity with aromas of graphite, blackcurrant, and leaves, supported by subtle French oak. It then builds layers of blackcurrant and gravel flavors with fantastic composure and fruit concentration, leading to a long, engaging finish. Truly well-balanced, this beautiful combination of subtlety, concentration, and structure is impressive. Ready to drink now but will continue to improve over the next two decades. 2030–2045
James Suckling
Wine rated (2019 guide) 95/100
About the wine:
This is a very impressive and majestic Cabernet that offers a rich array of blackcurrant and blackberry flavors, along with a hint of cedar and a slightly chalky note. It features a very rich and powerful core of deep fruit, along with a thread of rich chocolate flavor and a core of very polished, assertive tannins that linger for a very long time. Best enjoyed starting in 2022.