Giaconda Cabernet Sauvignon 2002

Giaconda, founded in 1982 by Rick Kinzbrunner, is one of the country’s great wine producers. The star of the show may be the chardonnay, but their other varietal wines are also great in their own right. As a result of a replanting programme and grafting of some older vines to Shiraz; the 2012 vintage was, sadly, the last release of the estate grown Cabernet Sauvignon. 

"No shortage of complexity here. In the mouth medium to full bodied with a flood of sweet and savoury dark fruit flavours - particularly heavy on the tobacco and dark chocolate accents, of which I'm quite fond. It's smooth and pliant with a beautiful spread of fine grained tannins, balanced acidity and a finish of exemplary length. A wine of composure and significant cellaring potential. If you have some tucked away then feel free to let that feeling of smugness wash all over you."  Gary Walsh

"There is a little more of everything in the 2002 cabernet. Once again the hard work in the vineyard is paying dividends. Deep crimson leading to magenta. Black currents, violets, mulberries, cedar, leaf, bitumen and earth. Quintessential cabernet and truly varietal. More muscular than past wines, the powerful ripe tannin spine has plenty of flesh to support. Mouth-filling black fruits assault the senses with support from violets, cedar, bitumen, tobacco leaf, chocolate and the underlying tannin and acid. Without doubt the biggest, blackest and most powerful cabernet to date. A wine to cellar for at least 15 years. A giant, well groomed in a tuxedo."  Doug Neal

Expert reviews

"I liked the 2001 Giaconda Cabernet on release but it didn't turn out the way I expected, so I punted the lot. Life's too short to drink overtly minty wine. The 2002, however, always was and was always going to be, superior booze. Nevertheless, I thought it might be time to check in on this little beauty... you can never be too sure.

Rich, almost essencey, with its strong blackcurrant/Cassis fruit mingling with a riot of other scents - black tobacco, violet, mint/aniseed, cedar oak and an earthy leaf litter and compost sort of thing going on. No shortage of complexity here. In the mouth medium to full bodied with a flood of sweet and savoury dark fruit flavours - particularly heavy on the tobacco and dark chocolate accents, of which I'm quite fond. It's smooth and pliant with a beautiful spread of fine grained tannins, balanced acidity and a finish of exemplary length. A wine of composure and significant cellaring potential. If you have some tucked away then feel free to let that feeling of smugness wash all over you. Drink: 2010 – 2020."  Gary Walsh, The Wine Front - 96 points (Tasted Feb 2009)

"Classically firm, long-term claret style with a sweet, polished aroma of plums, cassis and mulberries backed by nuances of violets, blackberries, dark olives and crushed leaves. Long, smooth, seamless and tightly integrated, it presents an intense spectrum of small berry fruits tightly wound around fine-grained and astringent tannins. Great strength and balance. Drink 2014-2022+."  Jeremy Oliver – 95 points 

"The cabernet was an underperformer here until 1999, but since then it has got better and better with each vintage; the 2002 is, in my opinion, one of the finest cabernets in the country from that vintage… Every so often you come across a cabernet with a truly sexy, entrancing perfume – like violets and pheromone-saturated blackcurrants… and this rich but tightly structured wine is one of them."  Max Allen, Australian Gourmet Traveller

"Take the 01 and add more fruit powerful and tannin. Plum fruit, cedar, spice, smoke and a chorus of finely chiselled tannins wrapped in a silky texture. More masculine than the 01 and destined for 20 years of exciting times."  Doug Neal, Giaconda Retrospective Tasting 1985 - 2002 (Feb 2005)

About the winery

"Giaconda vineyard was established by Rick Kinzbrunner, a mechanical engineer who became interested in wine in the early 1970's. Rick then spent the next ten years working in the industry, travelling and following his passion for wine. After a brief stint in New Zealand, he studied at Davis University in California and worked at some of the most respected wineries in the Napa and Sonoma Valleys (namely Stag's Leap, Simi and Matanzas Creek). In Europe he worked for the Moueix group in Bordeaux, co-owner of the fabled Chateau Petrus.

After returning to Australia in 1980 to take up a position as assistant winemaker at Brown Brothers in Milawa, Rick purchased land in the nearby Beechworth wine region - at the foothills of the beautiful North-East Victorian Alps. Planting commenced in 1982 and the property is now devoted solely to Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Shiraz. A separate planting of Nebbiolo has also been established close to the Beechworth township at Red Hill. Total area under vines at the Giaconda Estate Vineyard is now 4 hectares. Annual wine production is approximately 2,500 dozen bottles.

The Vineyards

Our Estate vineyard is managed sustainability and carefully according to environmental consciousness. Since 2018 we are now fully certified organic by the Bio Dynamic Research Institute (BDRI). The Australian Demeter Bio-Dynamic Method is a world leader in practices of ecological and sustainable farming.

At an altitude of 400+ metres (1,312 feet) the site and climate are influenced by the surrounding alpine valleys. The Chardonnay is planted on a relatively cool south-facing slope which is sheltered from the direct impact of the sun's rays. This results in a much slower ripening period, greater flavour complexity and natural acid levels. The Estate lies in a small valley which benefits from a light breeze much of the time; this is very effective in controlling disease.

Our Estate Vineyard Shiraz is planted on the amphitheatre block at the top of the property with a warm north-facing exposure. Warner Vineyard Shiraz is grown on a slightly higher elevation, 6.5km from the Beechworth township on ancient granite soils typical of the general area. These vines are also planted on a warm north-facing exposure.

The soil is 450 million year old granitic loam over decomposed gravel and clay. The clay is important in allowing sustained water-release to the vine roots; while the soil, being not too rich, is ideal for wine quality - lower yields are naturally regulated. The vines are drip irrigated in hotter years only when it is necessary to prevent vine stress.

The average rainfall is 800 mm annually, a little of which can be received during summer. Nights are generally cool with days being fairly warm, providing ideal conditions for slow ripening. Vintage begins in late February or early March, depending on the season. All grapes are hand-picked in the cool of the early morning before being processing at the winery on site. Cropping levels are approximately 2.5 tonnes per acre.

The Wine Making

Wine making should be subtle and always seek balance - this should never seek to dominate the Terroir or characteristics of any given vintage. Giaconda wines are hand-crafted according to basically a natural wine making process. To us this means indigenous yeasts are employed for fermentation, natural bacteria for Malolactic fermentation, French oak barrel ageing, minimal sulphur additions, and no filtration before bottling.

The winery, barrel maturation cave and bottling facility are all set up for gravity flow. This means the wines are very rarely pumped or manipulated mechanically. Instead they are gently moved by gravity or gas pressure during the entire wine making process.

In the case of Chardonnay, our fruit is hand picked, lightly crushed and then basket pressed - before being transferred to French oak barrels (approximately 30% new) for fermentation and ageing.

For the red wines, a combination of whole bunch and de-stemmed crushed fruit is transferred to large concrete tanks for fermentation. These wines remain on skins for an extended period to develop softer, finer tannins and more complexity; before being basket pressed and transferred to French oak barrels (up to 40% new in some cases) for ageing.

Our wines are aged in French oak for almost two years - deep underground in the granite maturation cave, which can be seen below. This cave offers optimal conditions for fermentation and ageing with a stable temperature of 16 degrees centigrade and naturally high humidity all year round."  Giaconda