Balnaves The Tally Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Wine Business Monthly (WBM) Top 100 Wines of 2008 

The Balnaves vineyard comprises twelve blocks of Cabernet Sauvignon vines of varying acreage and vine age, the oldest planted in 1975. These blocks are divided again into smaller parcels of between one and two hectares, following soil types and topography, with approximately forty Cabernet Sauvignon fermentations being conducted each vintage. The best of these ferments are set aside during vintage for the Balnaves Cabernet Sauvignon and in outstanding years, the Balnaves The Tally Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. 

The fruit for the 2006 The Tally was sourced from two blocks, the Dead Morris vineyard (56%) and the Walker vineyard (34%). The wine was matured for 20 months in new French oak.

"It's full bodied with enormous extract and flavour, dense and brooding with a big spread of chalky tannin and extreme length of flavour. A powerhouse that needs at least a decade of cellaring."  Gary Walsh

"The 2006 Tally has a Mid-deep red-purple tinge. Lifted nose, bright blueberry and blackberry fruit and perfumed violets with integrated charry oak and a slight minty note. The palate is mid weight with bright red and blackberry fruit and firm tannins. Tannins still not integrated with the fruit but the balance is good. Hold."  Balnaves

Expert reviews

"Beautifully crafted and delineated cassis fruit, framed by gently toasty oak and some floral notes; the palate is rich, deep, fine and very long; the brightness of fruit at the core is the essence of this wine. Drink Now - 2030."  James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion - 96 points

"This makes a hat trick of outstanding consecutive releases; The Tally has really asserted its position at the top tier of Coonawarra Cabernets. Cloaked in plenty of new French oak, it's a cedary, regal Cabernet, the blackcurrant and dark berry fruit is soaking the wood up fast. Terrific density and palate structure, deep and intense, it rolls smoothly from start to finish. Swanky, youthful Cabernet at its finest; game, set and match."  Nick Stock, Wine Business Monthly (WBM) – 96 points and Top 100 Wines of 2008

"I tasted this alongside the 2005 John Riddoch and 2004 Brands Laira The Patron and it was clear from the first sniff and slurp of The Tally that this was a youthful, dense and forbidding wine, so the cork went straight back in and the wine was left until the next day. A reverse application of the 'Method Audouze' if you like. A huge wine flooded with cassis, blackberry and raspberry fruit, a liberal application of complex oak offering toast, cedar, spice, nougat and play-doh with additional characters of black liquorice, mint and a few violets just poking their heads above the surface. It's full bodied with enormous extract and flavour, dense and brooding with a big spread of chalky tannin and extreme length of flavour. A powerhouse that needs at least a decade of cellaring. Drink: 2018 - 2030."  Gary Walsh, Winorama - 95 points

"Deep red purple. New oak shows, giving a toasty, smoky, cedary aroma. Palate very tight, with a firm tannin handshake. Solid and elegant but shy and unevolved. Terrific richness and intensity, concentration and yet elegance. Nothing overdone - it's just a smidgin too young…actually, much too young! Great future here. Top wine with tremendous potential."  Huon Hooke, The Real Review - 95 points

"This doesn't have the guts of the 2005 but there's still a good deal of glory. It's a wine that creeps up on you - I thought maybe it was a touch lacking at first but the more and longer I sat with it, the more bewitched I became. It's seamless and sustained, its flavours of mint, cedarwood, blackcurrant, dust and mulberry presented in a bright, juicy, elegant form. It should cellar beautifully. Drink: 2012-2018."  Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front - 94 points

Awards

Wine Business Monthly (WBM) Top 100 Wines of 2008 

About the winery

Balnaves of Coonawarra is a small family-owned winery, in the heart of the Coonawarra Wine Region. Doug Balnaves established the vineyard in 1975 and 2.5 ha of Cabernet Sauvignon and 2.5 ha of Shiraz were planted on the rich terra rossa soils. Since those first plantings the Balnaves vineyards have grown steadily and today Balnaves have over 70ha of high-quality estate vineyards.

In 1990 siblings Kirsty and Pete Balnaves joined the family company and the first Balnaves wines were produced on a contract basis at a neighbouring winery. These days, Doug is General Manager, while Kirsty is the Business Manager and Peter runs the vineyard. In 1995 the family was joined by winemaker Pete Bissell and in 1996 their state-of-the-art 1000 tonne winery, designed and supervised by Pete, was completed.  

In 1998 the first vintage of their flagship wine, the Balnaves The Tally Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon was produced. The 2004 Tally won Jeremy Oliver's Wine of the Year in 2007. In 2008 the winery was named James Halliday's Winery of the Year and they have been awarded five stars by Halliday for 17 consecutive years. 

Balnaves' success has in no small part been due to Pete Bissell, who celebrated 25 years as senior winemaker in 2020. Pete received numerous accolades over that time, including winning the Qantas/Gourmet Traveller Winemaker of the Year in 2005. Pete retired in July 2020 and assistant Winemaker Jacinta Jenkins took over as Senior Winemaker.