2021 Jim Barry - Cabernet Sauvignon Coonawarra Cover Drive (750ml)

Jim Barry Wines is one of the founding names of the Clare Valley. Jim Barry trained at Roseworthy Agricultural College and became the Clare Valley’s first qualified winemaker. In 1959 he and his wife Nancy bought their first vineyard property on the northern edge of Clare. Their son Peter later took over as managing director and created the single-vineyard Armagh Shiraz, the estate’s best-known wine. Today a third generation runs the family business, with Tom Barry as winemaker and his brother Sam leading sales. In 2020 the winery was named Winery of the Year by the Halliday Wine Companion.

The wine takes its name from its vineyard, the old Penola cricket ground on the southern edge of Coonawarra, where local players first took the field in 1950. After the ground was retired in 1996, Jim Barry bought the 30-acre site the next year and planted it to Cabernet Sauvignon on Coonawarra’s famous terra rossa soil. Since its first release in 2001, the Cover Drive has blended this Coonawarra fruit with selected parcels from the family’s Clare Valley vineyards, then aged it in French oak.

The nose shows cassis, boysenberry, and plum with fresh tobacco leaf, cedar, and a touch of Coonawarra eucalyptus. The palate is silky, with fine tannins and lively acidity. It pairs well with roast lamb or grilled ribeye.