2021 Koomilya Cabernet Touriga
2021 Koomilya Cabernet Touriga

2021 Koomilya Cabernet Touriga

Highly Rated NICK RYAN TOP 100
S.C. Pannell |McLaren Vale |Cabernet Sauvignon
Dense and intense dry red from the Koomilya Vineyard in McLaren Vale, an unlikely but successful combination of Cabernet and Touriga.
Price:
$90.00
Stock:
In stock, ready to ship
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Description

When Steve Pannell began to graft over some vines in the historic Koomilya vineyard to Touriga Nacional he didn't envisage blending it with the established workhorse Cabernet Sauvignon. But experimentation bore fruit and he found a lovely synergy between these two sturdy varieties.

The 2021 Koomilya Cabernet Touriga is Stephen Pannell’s answer to the future of McLaren Vale blending. Combining 75% Cabernet Sauvignon with 25% Touriga Nacional, this blend offers an unexpected synergy. Cassis, blackcurrant, and cigar box notes from the Cabernet are lifted by the floral, aromatic charm of Touriga. The structure builds steadily, leading to a crescendo of ripe fruit before a glossy, lingering finish.

Critics are enchanted by this blend’s unexpected success. Marcus Ellis from Wine Companion awarded it 97 points, noting its "agreeably old school" feel, with plush blue and red florals, dark chocolate, and sea-salt-sprayed rocks balancing the ripeness of the fruit. He described it as "complex, layered, and abundant," capturing the wine’s savoury yet decadent appeal. This is a wine that not only highlights the strengths of Cabernet Sauvignon but also elevates them through the inclusion of Touriga Nacional—a grape traditionally used in Portuguese wines but proving its worth in McLaren Vale’s soils.

Whether you’re a fan of classic Cabernet or looking for something a little more daring, this wine offers a fresh take on tradition and a glimpse into the future. A stunningly good wine but that's no surprise - we've long since been Pannell fans.

97 points
“There’s something agreeably old school about this, but it’s also clearly the product of a refined approach, in both vineyard and winery... Complex, layered and abundant, but savoury with it. What a lovely bottle this is.”
– Marcus Ellis (Wine Companion, August 2024)

96 points
"There’s something about the way these two tannin forward varieties interlock and expand that really works, delivering beautifully plush dark fruit with real low end tension and torque."
- Nick Ryan (The Weekend Australian)
95 points
"The Touriga rides high here giving the wine a Port-like violet perfume, raspberry, blackcurrant, a jubey pop of fruit, five spice and oyster shell and new car smell (leather seats, a given)... Such fun. So interesting and distinctive. I love it."
- Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)

97 points – “75/25% cabernet sauvignon/touriga nacional. There’s something agreeably old school about this, but it’s also clearly the product of a refined approach, in both vineyard and winery. When I say old school, I’m going back much further than what we generally regard as such. It feels bygone, in a very good way. Oak performs a function, but it doesn’t headline, fruit is ripe but not pushed. Plush blue and red florals, liqueur cherry, dark chocolate, toasted malt, licorice, caraway, so much iodine and kelp, like wintery sea-lashed rocks, a fresh blueberry levity, lavender and ground fresh rosemary, a cabernet leafiness levelling. Complex, layered and abundant, but savoury with it. What a lovely bottle this is.” – Marcus Ellis (Wine Companion, August 2024)

96 points - "Steve Pannell planted touriga on his Koomilya vineyard with the intention of making a broody Iberian blend with some tempranillo, graciano and mataro thrown in the mix, but in the end a more noble French bedfellow was found. There’s something about the way these two tannin forward varieties interlock and expand that really works, delivering beautifully plush dark fruit with real low end tension and torque." - Nick Ryan (The Weekend Australian)

95 points - "The Touriga rides high here giving the wine a Port-like violet perfume, raspberry, blackcurrant, a jubey pop of fruit, five spice and oyster shell and new car smell (leather seats, a given). It’s fleshy and plump, a bouncy amount of ripe dark fruit, quite some mouth-perfume, plush velour tannin, juicy and jellied to close, and long with it. Such fun. So interesting and distinctive. I love it." - Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)

93 points - "The 2021 Cabernet Touriga is leafy, laden with tobacco and cassis, violets and lifted perfume. In the mouth, the wine is succulent and gently chewy, with medicinal herbs, dusty kicked earth, cardamom pod, amaro-esque herbs and tapenade. An enduringly complex and interesting wine to behold. As usual for Steve Pannell, it is imbued with a profusion of natural-feeling tannins that shape the wine in the mouth and through the finish. While the wine has rustic persuasions, both aromatically and in the flavor profile, the finish is long and clean." - Erin Larkin (The Wine Advocate)

Upon purchasing the vineyard in 2012 I saw it as an ideal place to create blends that included grape varieties I believe will see McLaren Vale into the future, and further, complement the traditional varieties of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz.

I grafted two contoured and terraced blocks on deep red soil closest to the scrub at the top of the south-facing slope to Touriga Nacional with the intention of blending with Tempranillo, Graciano and Mataro. Blending with Cabernet Sauvignon was never planned, but as fate would have it, there is a magic between the two varieties that can’t be ignored.

Price Bracket $51 to $100
Type Red
Sub Type Cabernet | Blends
Body Full Bodied
Variety Cabernet Sauvignon
Country Australia
Region McLaren Vale
Australian State SA
Feature High Score
Reviewed By The Wine Front
James Suckling
The Wine Advocate
The Weekend Australian
Critic Score 97
95
93
96
Size 750ml
Vintage 2021
Closure Screw Cap

S.C. Pannell

Quite simply, Stephen Pannell is one of Australia’s finest and most imaginative winemakers. He’s a Jimmy Watson Trophy winner, a McLaren Vale Bushing King winner, a two-time Max Schubert Trophy winner, International Red Winemaker of the Year and Decanter Magazine’s 50 Most Influential Contributors to the World of Wine. Nick Stock described him as potentially “one of the greatest Australian winemakers ever to make wines in our age”.

Steve’s wines are made with modern Australian food and wine culture at the front of mind. The wines come from a range of stunning McLaren Vale and Adelaide Hills vineyards, and are made from sustainable varieties that properly suit his South Australian climate. They're built around brightness of fruit and savoury tannin structure, and whatever your poison is Steve has you covered!

He is truly one of the most forward-thinking and inspirational Australian winemakers alive today.

Visionary winemaker Stephen Charles Pannell Discover S.C. Pannell

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