Established: 1972
Location: Main Road, Coonawarra, a few kilometres north of Penola.
Phone: (08) 8737-2229
Fax: (08) 8737-2173
Email: bowenest@coonawarra.mtx.net.au
Winemaker: Doug Bowen
Important Varietals: Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Rhine Riesling.
Personal Comments:
Doug Bowen graduated from Roseworthy College in 1971 and started work as a winemaker with Lindemans at Coonawarra. He purchased 16 hectares of land in 1972 and increased the 3 hectare original plantings with another 4 almost immediately. His first vintage, the 1975, was released in 1977, at which time he left Lindemans to start out full-time on his own.
I must confess to not being much of a fan of Coonawarra whites, with a few exceptions, so I tend to stay with the Cabernet and Shiraz at Bowen's. And these varietals typify all that I like about the Coonwarra region - lots of tannin, with enough fruit, acid and alcohol to give the wines a fairly lengthy life. I've tried the 1985 Cabernet recently and found it still on the improve. I'd give it a couple of years yet.
You don't go to this winery for the surroundings. The dirt road that runs off the main paved road is potholed and bumpy, the tasting room is small and merely functional. But the wines more than make up for it. And the family member behind the counter is always very knowledge and honest. If you're lucky enough to get to meet Doug you'll find him rather quiet and reserved. Which is not something you can say about his wines. A winery not to be missed.
Best of the recent vintages:
James Halliday in December 1996 named the 1994 Shiraz one of his top 100 Australian wines of the year. I tasted this wine back in May when Doug Bowen was visiting Melbourne promoting his new releases and must say that I was very impressed by it. Big and black, warm, rounded: basically all the best things in a Shiraz. I then tried a bottle in November 1996 and must admit to being a trifle disappointed at first tasting. I put it down to being overly eager and not allowing the wine time to breathe. An hour or so later it was just wonderful. This is one of those wines you just have to try. It's far too young at present of course but what the hell, it'll last ten years at least. Buy a few to lay down, try one now and look forward to your future.
Winestate magazine rated Bowen's 1994 Cabernet Sauvignon highly by giving it 4 stars (out of a possible 5) and saying: "Perfumed, almost floral nose. Tradition 'big red' cabernet with hearty tannins and quality oak. Fruit is masked to some degree at the moment but likely to lift once tannins soften out." They recommend laying down for 3 - 5+ years though I feel this would still leave the wine somewhat short of its best mark. Oddly enough the magazine didn't seem as impressed by the 1994 Shiraz, not rating it as high as four stars.
In June 1997, The Age rated the 1995 Shiraz ($23.60) at 4 and a half stars with a cellaring potential of 4 years. 1995 wasn't too flash a year for the Coonawarra so this is a fine achievement.
The May 1998 issue of Epicure Uncorked, the periodic wine magazine for Melbourne's Age newspaper, chose the 1996 Bowen Estate Shiraz as their best red of the issue. They give it a cellaring potention for 1-10+ years and state: "A blinder of a shiraz! Coonawarra's Doug Bowen has served up a great drink: it's tremendously complex, smelling gamey, spicy and vaguely animal, with mixed spices in the background. The flavour is terrifically intense, lively, bold and youthful, ending with nice firm tannins. A keeper." The wine is priced at $21.00 in the magazine but I have seen it around town for $22.95, and I believe you can get it from the winery at something less than either of these prices.
Recent news tells of Doug's daughter Emma returning home to help out her father with a new Sparkling Shiraz. I can hardly wait.
Other Web Pages
Winepros carries reviews of the
1997 Shiraz - which Hallidays rates as 94 out
of 100, and the 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon - rated
84 out of 100.
This page, and all contents, are copyright © 1996-2001 by Perry Middlemiss, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Return to Larrikin Wineries page.
Last modified: May 2, 2001.