Balnaves of Coonawarra is a small family-owned wine company in the heart of the famous Coonawarra Terra Rossa strip, in the Limestone Coast zone of South Australia. In 1971, after 18 years as a farmer and part time shearer, Doug Balnaves was employed by Hungerford Hill Vineyards to develop 100 hectares of vines on the Coonawarra property that they had purchased from the Balnaves family in 1970. Doug (with the aid of Bill Redman the “Grand Old Man of Coonawarra”) first made wine in an old cement vat in 1974 after being transferred from the children’s swimming pool from the back of the ute. In 1986, Doug Balnaves resigned as manager of the Hungerford Hill to further develop the Balnaves vineyard. The first vines of the Balnaves vineyard comprising of 2.5 hectares of Cabernet Sauvignon and 2.5 hectares of Shiraz, were planted on the rich terra rossa soils fronting the Riddoch Highway. There had been a growing feeling within the family that if Balnaves were to produce a consistently high quality wine, that total control, from vineyard to winemaking would be desirable and in 1995 the decision was made to construct the Balnaves winery. The first Balnaves wines to be made in the new winery were produced by Pete Bissell in 1996. After two years working under Pete Bissell as assistant Winemaker, Jacinta Jenkins took over as Senior Winemaker after Pete retired in July 2020. The vineyard is divided into small blocks of between 1 and 2 hectares, which consider depth of soil, trellis design, vine clone and row direction. The quality of wine produced from these small blocks is evaluated each year and recorded. In the vineyard, they set up Precision Viticulture, analysis of the soils, frost management with modern tools.
The Blend 2014 is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (56%), Merlot (38%) and Cabernet Franc (6%). Fermentation and maceration are carried out on the skins, in stainless steel vats for 10 to 15 days, then the wine is aged for 14 months in barrels, including 10 to 15% new oak.
Grape varieties: 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc
