WTN: A Coonawarra Cab and trolling about "softness"

Nugan Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Alcira 2006

19,74€; 14,5% abv; 7,4 g/l acidity. 24 months in French oak of which 80% was new and 20% once used.

This is certainly a robust wine. It smells of eucalyptus and dark fruit, quite a bit of oak but not in such overwhelming amounts as I thought when I saw the figures! It even develops some vegetal aromas with air.

Despite the back label saying that this is a smooth wine, I am happy to say that it had proper structure. The tannins weren't those super-soft, almost unnoticeable tannins of spoofulated wines, but were honest, hard and rugged. They tasted real! It was full bodied and thick but it did have a perverse balance to it: much fruit, much tannin, much acidity, much oak - and amazingly, also much more drinkability than I expected. That must be because this wasn't a formless blob. So, not really my style of wine, but at least it was an interesting change to the other (super-soft) Ozzies we have had.

I have often wondered why "smoothness" is a positive thing in wine? What's wrong with having a proper structure? We don't drink tea so dilute as to have no tannins, so why are so many wines made like that?

I couldn't agree with more Otto. Boo smooth!

[David M. Bueker]

Smoothness is valued because for the average person it makes a wine more drinkable. It is the minority of wine drinkers (normally the more geeky like us) that prefer greater structure. Also one of the reasons to age wine is to allow the structure to melt into the wine, making it softer/smoother.

I agree Otto!

I always thought I was just odd because I often like red wines with extremely chalky/dusty/full/rugged tannins and mouthfeel at the expense of almost everything else! I get the feeling this isn't the way I'm "supposed" to be appreciating red wines but it is what I most love and gravitate to in reds.

I've joked before that tannins/tactile structure is virtually the MAIN reason I have a red wine. After all, if that tactile mouthfeel and heavy-gripping sensation isn't there, then I'm essentially just having a "white wine" that is colored red! I'm being a bit over-simplistic of course, but it is how I largely view my enjoyment of any red wine. I, too, read notes about the finest of wines and when they say things like, tannins fully resolved or soft tannins, then I wonder if maybe I just don't have the correct appreciation for all these world class red wines. Because my idea of a memorable red wine would never have "delicate tannins" or "absence of tannin" in the description. At least I can't imagine how it could when that chalky, tactile mouthfeel is so critical to my definition of what makes a red wine a "red wine" to begin with.

But I suppose my tastes need to be taken with a grain of salt because for a wine like champagne (which I most taste and
enjoy) then I feel just the opposite! But then again the wine's "intent" is entirely different. Maybe I just stereotype too
much or prefer wines in neat, separate groups but I don't personally want a red wine to "act like" a champagne or white
wine (be light or too clean) anymore than I like a champagne to act "masculine" or give off a rough, mouth filling rush of
tannin. I understand both wines have variety within their group but I still prefer to enjoy each for what they inherently
are, at least as they are in terms of how I understand them to be. So I do value smoothness/age/elegance/purity in a
champagne. I think its because the "structure" (acidity) is so inherent and abundant to begin with that I never feel too worried that it won't be there no matter how aged or mellowed it gets. In fact, mellowing that sharp acidity seems to be the general ultimate goal in the case of champagne! For some reason, I don't see "red wines" in the exact same light. Losing that (hopefully) rich and gripping tannic sensation never feels comforting to me. I just end up feeling like I lost a red wine's most distinctive trait and now it's gone! Now it's more like I'm just drinking a crimson colored "white wine" - where did that awesome and gripping mouthfeel go???

Jeff

A mix of disorganized thoughts in response...

- I fully agree re. texture in young wines. I enjoy that feeling of smoothness in older wines where the tannins have resolved and a whole lot of other flavours have come out - but in young wines that don't have the same complexity to get me hooked, I also really like the feeling of some tannin and texture. Even moreso with young whites - particularly Rieslings/Gruners where the ones with a really intense minerally flavour component and good acidity sometimes have a texture that's almost gritty.
- Really nice to see some other notes on Coonawarra Cabernet. I seriously feel that's one of the best areas for good value Cabs that will really age well. There are a number of producers there like Wynn's, Balnaves, Majella and Petaluma that are making some fantastic wines at great prices with IMO the capacity to really age beautifully and it's ideal for me - it's easier to find 'structured' and more restrained wines than California, and the prices are certainly a lot more reasonable than Bordeaux, WA or Cali. Plus Coonawarra's one of the few areas in Aus that doesn't seem to have been hit by the wave of winemakers souping up their styles for massively ripe goopy reds for high RMP scores that's suddenly come about in the last decade or so.
- Re. the oak in a lot of these Coonawarra Cabs - I get the impression (from the bunch I've tasted) that it's something that will generally integrate nicely over time. I've had older Cabs (or blends) from most of the producers I mentioned above and generally after 7-10 years the oak really starts to settle down and fade nicely into the background of the wine.

Hi Otto,
Agree totally with your last paragraph.Seems we both have extreme tastes on more than one issue. Lovers of smooth wines will probably be smack bang on the middle of a normal distribution curve , we are not.
Probably why I like Petit Sirah and the green and herbacious versions of Cabernet Franc.

[David M. Bueker]

Perhaps my tastes are getting too "catholic" (no, not the religion) in my middle age. I can appreciate integrated, smooth wines as long as they are not overly goopy. I also love Petite Sirah and have been dabbling in an appreciation of Loire reds.

A mix of disorganized thoughts in response...

- I fully agree re. texture in young wines. I enjoy that feeling of smoothness in older wines where the tannins have resolved and a whole lot of other flavours have come out -

Ah yes, this part I think I might need to clarify. I do like mature wines and I think I appreciate very old wines much more than most drinkers (who declare them dead when I still happy sniff them). But though the tannic structure often does diminish quite much, when the fruit starts to gain evolved flavours, the acidity tends to come to the rescue. But I don't count the texture really as smoothness - it is lively. But sometimes I do think that I would like wines even better if they retained more tannin when aged.

I will say in respect of old wines, that whilst the point of ageing is to knock most of the rough edges off, to retain good balance and build complexity, I firmly believe that even fine aged red wine wouldn't be as soft/smooth as a low acid/no tannin/warm fruited cheap wine with a dollop of residual sugar.

I know which one would interest me more though

regards

Ian

A mix of disorganized thoughts in response...

- I fully agree re. texture in young wines. I enjoy that feeling of smoothness in older wines where the tannins have resolved and a whole lot of other flavours have come out - but in young wines that don't have the same complexity to get me hooked, I also really like the feeling of some tannin and texture. Even moreso with young whites - particularly Rieslings/Gruners where the ones with a really intense minerally flavour component and good acidity sometimes have a texture that's almost gritty.
- Really nice to see some other notes on Coonawarra Cabernet. I seriously feel that's one of the best areas for good value Cabs that will really age well. There are a number of producers there like Wynn's, Balnaves, Majella and Petaluma that are making some fantastic wines at great prices with IMO the capacity to really age beautifully and it's ideal for me - it's easier to find 'structured' and more restrained wines than California, and the prices are certainly a lot more reasonable than Bordeaux, WA or Cali. Plus Coonawarra's one of the few areas in Aus that doesn't seem to have been hit by the wave of winemakers souping up their styles for massively ripe goopy reds for high RMP scores that's suddenly come about in the last decade or so.

I'd agree pretty well with this.
For local (Oz) wines' labelling blurbs, I always translated 'soft' as 'no tannin' and 'fruity' as 'sweet'. Haven't run across 'smooth' much, but I suppose I'd be inclined to see it as asynonym for 'soft'.
Yes, fine in something ancient where 'smooth' incorporates a healthy measure of development and complexity to my way of thinking, but makes me rather wary of a young wine.
cheers,
Graeme

Hi Otto,
Agree totally with your last paragraph.Seems we both have extreme tastes on more than one issue. Lovers of smooth wines will probably be smack bang on the middle of a normal distribution curve , we are not.
Probably why I like Petit Sirah and the green and herbacious versions of Cabernet Franc.

Hear Hear Philip! PS and CF rock.