JOSHUA COOPER WINES

Macedon Ranges • Victoria • AUSTRALIA

JOSHUA COOPER WINES 2022 BC RELEASE

There was ever-present disease pressure due to cooler weather. This resulted in lower yields in some vineyards, though also provided enhanced aromatics, detail and freshness. 

This is quite easily my most exciting release to date, due to the breadth and quality of the wines. Each has its own storied past and cellaring pedigree. 

They provide a fantastic snapshot of the landscapes of Central and Western Victoria through the lens of Old Vine Cabernet Sauvignon. 

2022 SPRING CABERNET SAUVIGNON

SKU +269264 | $64.99 WHSL | 6 x 750ml | 13.5% abv

50% Dash Farms, 40% Shays Flat, 5% Balgownie Old Vines, 5% Redbank Old Vines

The mountainside nature of Dash Farm provides incredible freshness to the wine. Deep, inky purple with intense violet, seaweed and cassis, and graphite, sweet herb and spice attest to the cool nature of this site, jointed by deep red cherry fruit and an alluring graphite quality from Shays Flat. The old vines of Balgownie and Redbank provide further depth, complexity and firmness to the tannin backbone.

2022 Dash Farms Cabernet Sauvignon

SKU +257764 | $79.99 WHSL | 6 x 750ml | 13% abv | 2700 bottles produced

Planted 1999, Dash Farms sits perched at over 450m asl on the Southern granitic slopes of Mt Alexander (Leanganook) looking back towards Mt Macedon and the Macedon Ranges. Like Ray- Monde, it sits just outside the Macedon Ranges GI. An extremely late ripening site for Cabernet Sauvignon, the fruit was harvested in late April. 

Hand harvested with strict fruit sorting in the vineyard, bunches were then 100% de-stemmed and partially foot crushed before loading into open fermenters where they remained for three weeks. The must was allowed to soak until natural fermentation commenced and then extracted with a combination of pumping over, delestage and pigage before basket pressing. 

Elevage took place in a combination of new Stockinger 300l (30%) and seasoned thin staved Bordeaux coopered barriques for 12 months, before four months in stainless steel after assemblage. The only addition to the wine is a small dose of sulphur. 

The mountainside nature of Dash Farm provides incredible freshness to the wine. Deep, inky purple with intense violet, seaweed and cassis, and graphite, sweet herb and spice attest to the cool nature of the site. 

Only medium weight though remarkably intense, it presents as the most “Claret” style of the three Cabernet Sauvignon cuvées, full of small dark berry fruit with fine gravelly tannins. Incredibly satisfying in youth for its dark fruit and freshness, this cuvée will reward with additional complexity with medium term cellaring. 

2022 Shay’s Flat Cabernet Sauvignon

SKU +269277 | $99.99 WHSL | 6 x 750ml | 13% abv | 3960 bottles produced

Viticulture: Certified Organic

The Shay’s Flat Vineyard is situated on an elevated and picturesque ridge in the heart of the Pyrenees. A distinctively Australian setting with the vineyard surrounded by wheat paddocks, native bushland and scrub, the 20+ year old vines are rooted deep into mineral rich shale, quartz and mudstone soils, growing powerful, yet detailed fruit. It is the second to ripen of the three Cabernet Sauvignon sites. 

I have a distinct soft spot for the Cabernet wines produced in the 70s and 80s by the pioneering wineries of Central and Western Victoria, many of which seem ageless even now. 

Once hand harvested the fruit was entirely de-stemmed, then partially foot crushed before transfer to open fermenters where it remained for three weeks. The must was allowed to soak until natural fermentation commenced and was then extracted with a combination pumping over, delestage and pigage before basket pressing. 

Elevage took place in a combination of new Stockinger 300l (30%) and seasoned thin staved Bordeaux coopered barriques for 12 months, before four months in stainless steal after assemblage. The only addition to the wine is a small dose of sulphur. 

Deep, dark garnet. Reticent on opening, aeration shows intense sour cherry and cassis, mulberry, lavender and black olive with a sweet mint top note and alluring graphite and terracotta complexity. A compact and powerful palate opens with time to reveal layers of deep dark berry and red cherry fruit, before a rumble of fine layered tannin and cleansing cherry pit acidity with a persistent trail of graphite, dark cocoa and Dutch liquorice. 

The clarity and length of flavour and added depth and quality of tannin mark this as a very special wine, the best yet from this site. 

Vivid purple. Initially reticent until time and aeration reveal perfectly ripened blackcurrant and blood plum fruits, sweet baking spices and cedar, the faintest hint of mint combined with a ferrous complexity. 

Refined, firm grainy tannin shapes the wine elegantly, drawing to a finish of superb length and clarity. 

Please decant well prior to drinking, while cellaring will reveal more nuance and complexity. 

2022 Balgownie Old Vines Cabernet Sauvignon

SKU +269280 | $129.99 WHSL | 6 x 750ml | 13% abv | 4200 bottles produced

Balgownie Vineyard is a name that should need no introduction to lovers of Victorian wine. An icon of the 70s and 80s, it has produced some of the most remarkable mature Australian wines I have had the pleasure of drinking. Indeed my cellar is well stocked with them thanks to 10+ years of collecting. 

Established 1969 200m asl near the banks of Myers Creek in Maiden Gully on Ordovician shale, quartz and ironstone rubble, thanks to current winemaker Tony Winspear it now supplies me a small amount of old vine Cabernet Sauvignon from some of the earliest plantings from 1970. 

The first to ripen of the three Cabernet Sauvignon sites, these old vines and special place deliver fruit of extreme concentration and complexity. Harvest occurred around three weeks earlier than Shays Flat. 

Once hand harvested the fruit was entirely de-stemmed, then partially foot crushed before transfer to open fermenters where it remained for three weeks. The must was allowed to soak until natural fermentation commenced and was then extracted with a combination pumping over, delestage and pigage before basket pressing. 

Elevage took place in a combination of new Stockinger 300l (30%) and seasoned thin staved Bordeaux coopered barriques for 12 months, before four months in stainless steal after assemblage. The only addition to the wine is a small dose of sulphur. 

Deep, dark garnet. A wine which immediately makes one sit up and focus. Refined and complex with iron, sweet cassis, cedar spice, violet and rose, air reveals infinite nuance and detail. The palate is flooded with wave upon wave of Cabernet fruit, braced by a strict but not overbearing tannic structure, finishing with sweet violet and cassis and a wave of perfume. The most refined of the six Cabernet cuvées, but also the most concentrated and finally balanced. A very worthy follow up to the 2021 vintage and a wine that displays my most prized characteristics - effortless complexity and power without weight. 

Please decant well prior to drinking, or cellar for as long as you like. 

2022 Redbank Vineyard Old Vines Cabernet Sauvignon

SKU +257761 | $129.99 WHSL | 6 x 750ml | 13.5% abv | 4200 bottles produced

Another vineyard which needs no introduction to lovers of classic Victorian wines. Still farmed and managed by founder Neill Robb, much like Balgownie it has been a bastion of quality since establishment. The wines also enjoy a similar track record of cellaring. 

The vineyard has been dry grown since planting, with vine roots now stretching deep into the hillside soil - largely composed of shale and mudstone, with a iron rich surface layer of ochre red loam, essential for its water holding capacity. 

Once hand harvested the fruit was entirely de-stemmed, then partially foot crushed before transfer to open fermenters where it remained for three weeks. The must was allowed to soak until natural fermentation commenced and was then extracted with a combination pumping over, delestage and pigage before basket pressing. 

Elevage took place in a combination of new Stockinger 300l (30%), Spanish stoneware jars and seasoned thin staved Bordeaux coopered barriques for 12 months, before four months in stainless steal after assemblage. The only addition to the wine is a small dose of sulphur. 

Impenetrable garnet. Subtle and restrained, though incredibly distinctive. Redbank slowly reveals layer after layer - cassis, new leather, warm terracotta, fig and blood plum. The most elegant of Black Holes of aroma and flavour. 

Fine and layered tannin coats the mouth, carrying inky, ferrous complexity and blood plum fruit. 

Redbank eloquently evokes the iron rich red loams, shale and wild scrub of this part of the Pyrenees. 

Please decant well prior to drinking, or cellar for as long as you like. 

2022 Greytown Old Vines shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon

SKU +257752 | $129.99 WHSL | 6 x 750ml | 14% abv | 3960 bottles produced

Viticulture: Lutte raisonee/sustainable, no synthetic fungicides or herbicides. 

The Greytown Vineyard was planted in the northeastern corner of the (now) Heathcote region in the 1950s by European migrants, importantly planting was carried out in the traditional manner, sans irrigation and as a field blend. In this case Syrah vines interspersed with an unknown proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon. The aim being to harvest the site as a whole, capturing a more nuanced expression of place and season. Amongst the oldest plantings in the area the vines have found a happy home in the deep alluvial soils. 

Stylistically inspired by the Syrah-Cabernet blends of the South of France, especially one of my favourite wines - Domaine Trevallon. 

Once hand harvested the fruit was entirely de-stemmed, then partially foot crushed before transfer to open fermenters where it remained for three weeks. The must was allowed to soak until natural fermentation commenced and was then extracted with a combination pumping over, delestage and pigage before basket pressing. 

Elevage took place in a combination of one year old Stockinger thick staved 600l (30%), Spanish stoneware jars and seasoned thin staved Bordeaux coopered barriques for 12 months, before four months in stainless steal after assemblage. The only addition to the wine is a small dose of sulphur. 

Glistening purple, the two varieties combine wonderfully lending the pepper, spice and plushness of Syrahs fruit, with the strictness and refinement of Cabernet Sauvignon. 

Aromas of cracked black pepper, sweet new leather, baking spices, lavender, thyme, and a sprig of mint fill the glass. Australian garrigue. Sweet and fleshy black cherry fruits are ensconced in layers 

of fine pliant tannin, with the firm backbone and sense of freshness and refinement only Cabernet Sauvignon can bring. 

A wine entirely unique to its place and landscape, old vines, co-planted with great foresight in a cooler pocket of the region. 

Please decant well prior to drinking, or cellar for as long as you like. 

2022 Old Vine CuvÉe I

SKU +257756 | $199.99 WHSL | 6 x 750ml | 13.5% abv | 1200 bottles produced

I have a distinct soft spot for the Cabernet wines produced by the pioneering wineries of Central and Western Victoria, many of which seem ageless even now. 

Vintage 2022 saw the ideal mild ripening conditions for the classic medium-bodied and finely structured style of wine I love, while opportunity arose to work with three new vineyard sources. These perfect circumstances led to the realisation of a long held desire - the first wine in what will be a series of one-off blends based around old vine material from Central and Western Victoria. A distinct nod to the great multi-regional tete de cuvée blends of the 50s and 60s. 

Four historically significant sites contribute to the Old Vine Cuvée  

Late ripening Greytown Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon co-planted in the 1950s by European migrants in sandy loam overlying quartz and ironstone rich gravels in the North- 

Eastern corner of the Heathcote GI, the vines are dry grown and produce incredibly concentrated clusters at low sugar levels, full of tannin and complexity. 

Balgownie 1970 Block Cabernet Sauvignon should need no introduction, the legendary vineyard planted by the visionary Stuart Anderson. Kickstarting the modern Central Victorian wine industry from his base in Maiden Gully, Bendigo and producing wines with a revered cellaring track record. Gravel, quartz, sandstone and shale make up the soil profile and imbue huge tannic depth and complexity to the fruit. 

Similarly to the early work done by Stuart Anderson, Neill Robb established his Redbank winery in the heart of the Pyrenees in the 1970s, which now supplies to me a small parcel of Cabernet Sauvignon. Again dry grown, and again rooted deep in shale, quartz and clay soil, the blocks are also overlayed with water holding red, iron rich loam. Ball bearing-sized berries enable picking at moderate sugar levels, with a deep and exotic fruit profile. 

The Williams Vineyard, also planted in the early 70s by Laurie Williams - an early sounding board and guide to so many local vignerons - has intrigued me since childhood. Planted in decomposed granitic gravel on the outskirts of the Kyneton township, I’ve passed it most days of my life travelling to or from my family’s Cobaw Ridge estate. A small holding of just a few acres of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and once bottled as ‘Flynn and Williams’ the resultant wine in its heyday enjoyed a similar reputation to those of Virgin Hills and Balgownie. 

The Old Vine Cuvée is comprised of 45% Greytown, 37.5% Balgownie, 15% Redbank and 2.5% Williams Vineyard. A higher proportion of press wine was retained for the blend, and elevage took place for 12 months solely in one-year-old blonde toasted barrels - 300L “hogsheads” from Stockinger and 228L “Magic Casks” from Laurent. 

No fining, filtration or additives other than a small amount of sulphur dioxide. 

Glass staining deep purple, the aromatics are strikingly redolent of the Australian landscape, scrub and wild herb, sunbaked red earth, cocoa, pepper and spice complexity engulf dark, perfectly ripened blackberry and cassis fruit. Violet floral top notes lend a sense of airiness to the otherwise saturated aromas. 

While the flavour profile remains dark and saturating on the palate, it is built around layer upon layer of fine fruit tannin - keeping the wine medium-bodied and lively. 

Please decant well prior to enjoying as a young wine, or cellar well.