Penfolds Koonunga Hill Cabernet Sauvignon 2002

Australia, the Land Down Under. Warm sun, open spaces, beautiful women, topless beaches, kangaroo burgers, and spaghetti sandwiches. Oh yeah; also wine. While many people equate Australian wine with inexpensive, (cheap) it can also be quite expensive. Penfolds has been around for 150 years. No really. And if not the largest wine producer in Australia, it certainly is one of the biggest. It also makes one of the most expensive wines around, the Grange, which can run over $200 a bottle, for a Syrah mind you! They also do make inexpensive wines, like the Koonunga Hill lineup. Koonunga Hill can be found in Cab, Cab/Merlot, Shiraz/Cab, and Shiraz, in red wines, and three white wines also. But we don't really care about the whites, do we?

No we're her for the reds. The bigger, the better. The Koonunga Hill '02 Cabernet ($8.99 at Bevmo.com) was typical inexpensive cab with some expensive attributes. Let's start with the nose. It's hard to find. According to the blurb at Penfolds website, "The nose is ostensibly (eh?) varietal and ripe, without any suggestion of greeness." I'll agree. No nose means no greeness. "Dark Cabernet fruits and tomato leaf aromas combine with complex notes of spice, nutty oak and black olive to create an exciting aromatic lift." Hmmmm. I need to go out and smell a tomato plant I guess. All I can say is that they must have smelled the wine in barrel to get that much aroma. As I said, nada. Well, ok. A little small.

On the plus side however, the wine has firm tannins, giving it some aging potential, and some nicely excessive acidity, usually found in dry white wines more than Australian reds. Without a nose however, I wouldn't bother cellaring it. It has the usual resemblance to most inexpensive Cabernet in flavor. Some berry, oak and spice to complement most hearty meals. Available in Australia with a screw cap, it shows up here with cork, just to piss off the ADA people I suppose. Oh well.

Not a bad wine for the price, but I like wines with more smell and flavor at the start. If you have a cellar and fell like storing this for a few years you may be pleasantly surprised, but I wouldn't count on it. Get a Grange for storing. Invite me for drinking!!