Petaluma White Label Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 (Coonawarra, SA)
14.5%, Screwcap, $27
Source: Tasting
www.petaluma.com.au

Whilst the attention for this wine has centered largely upon the rather unloved label (for the record I don’t think it is that bad. Yes it looks like a sample label over the front of a Petaluma label but I still can see the intention) the wines are pretty solid. Or at least this Cabernet and the Sauv are – I didn’t care as much for the 2011 White Label Chardonnay or the 2012 Pinot Gris.

Sourced from the Evans and Sharefarmers vineyards in Coonawarra, this has plenty of the DNA of Petaluma’s top red, the ‘Coonawarra’, if a straight Cabernet instead of a blend. What I like is how distinctly Coonawarra it is – mint, green bean and red dirt in spades. Medium bodied and even, the oak forward, but plump and softening, the tannins slender and shapely.

Aside from the slightly distracting mint, this looks pretty attractive indeed. I’d like a fraction more definition and concentration, but otherwise it’s composed, affable and everything you’d want in a $27 Coonawarra Cabernet. It is too even, too straight up and down? That’s the only question left to ponder…

Drink: 2013-2020
Score: 17.8/20 92/100
Would I buy it? If looking for a sub $30 Coonawarra Cabernet this should be high on the list.