The Balnaves family, Coonawarra and Cabernet Sauvignon are concentric circles, indivisible from one another,” declares James Halliday. So true: they’re Coonawarra to the core. Doug Balnaves and children Kirsty and Pete were all born in Penola and the winery sits at the heart of the famous Terra Rossa strip, where Doug started planting vines in 1976. Former Qantas Winemaker of the Year Pete Bissell is the other essential piece of the puzzle, helping this producer to the title of James Halliday Winery of the Year in 2008. 

As the Reserve, this wine has the right to flex extract, concentration and muscle across some oakier ribs. And yet Balnaves' finely hewn grape tannins-all pulpy and chewy-along with a proclivity toward refinement over excess, keeps it all in check. Blackcurrant stains the cheeks. A potpourri of herb, licorice straps and vanilla to coffee bean soar along the structural beams. This is a superlative wine of immense oomph, melded with grace. Drink to: 2045; Date Tasted: Jan 2019; Alcohol: 14.4%; Rating: 96 Points; Ned Goodwin MW; James Halliday Wine Companion