Balnaves of Coonawarra
A family-owned Coonawarra estate whose terra rossa Cabernet, led by the acclaimed The Tally, is a benchmark for the region.
Doug Balnaves planted his first Coonawarra vines in 1975 and the family has been growing grapes on the strip of terra rossa over limestone ever since. The cellar door, a low building among the vines on the Riddoch Highway, pours a tightly focused range built around Cabernet Sauvignon.
The flagship is The Tally Reserve Cabernet, made only in the strongest vintages and regarded as one of Coonawarra's great wines. Alongside it sit a structured straight Cabernet, a Cabernet Merlot blend and a cool-climate Chardonnay and Shiraz.
Tastings are unhurried and knowledgeable, often led by family. It is a place to understand why this narrow cigar-shaped band of red soil produces Cabernet of such poise.
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Image credits
- Winter vineyard in Coonawarra.JPG by ScottDavis , CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons