Why it matters
The producer
Wynns grew from the vineyards planted by Scottish pioneer John Riddoch in 1891, beside the triple-gabled winery then called Chateau Comaum. The building and its vineyards gave the estate a physical home in Coonawarra; the wines made there now turn that setting into Cabernet Sauvignon bottles such as Black Label and John Riddoch.
Samuel Wynn and David Wynn bought the winery in 1951. Their purchase joined the family name to an existing vineyard property, and David later commissioned the woodcut of the winery façade that remains part of Wynns’ label imagery.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Coonawarra sits in South Australia, where Wynns works with a cool climate and conditions that support a long ripening season. For Cabernet Sauvignon, slower ripening matters: fruit can develop while acidity and tannin remain part of the wine’s shape, rather than being lost to heat.
This is why the estate’s named wines are Cabernet Sauvignon rather than a collection of unrelated labels. The regional conditions provide a common frame, while separate fruit selection allows Black Label and John Riddoch to occupy different places in the range.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
Wynns’ vineyard work is paired with a cellar choice designed to preserve differences between sites. The estate installed open fermenters so small parcels of single-vineyard fruit could ferment separately, rather than disappearing into one early blend.
That separation changes the decisions available after fermentation. Cabernet parcels can be assessed individually for fruit character, tannin, acidity and texture before they are directed toward a named wine. The 300-hectare rejuvenation programme matters in the same practical way: it is vineyard work aimed at the fruit that eventually enters those fermenters.
Wines to know
The range in view
Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 is a principal named Wynns Cabernet release with its own documented fruit-selection policy, élevage and drinking window. It is a youthful Cabernet built around fruit, tannin, acidity and oak-derived development, with enough structure for cellaring rather than only immediate softness.
John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 is not Black Label in a different wrapper. It has separate selection criteria, composition and release details, and the professional tasting material focuses on its aroma, tannin, structure and ageing capacity. Together, the two wines show the estate’s range as a choice between distinct Cabernet selections, not simply different labels from the same vat.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Start with Wynns Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon 2023. It is a named Coonawarra Cabernet with documented fruit selection, élevage and drinking window, so it brings the region’s cool-climate ripening together with the estate’s cellar work in one bottle. Expect Cabernet fruit, acidity, tannin, oak and a youthful, firm texture, with a finish that suggests time will change the wine’s shape.