Zema Estate Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 1999

"If ever there was an example of great wines being made in the vineyard, this is it."  James Halliday 

Zema Estate was established in 1982 by Demetrio and Francesca Zema. Over 40 years later, Zema continues to flourish under the direction of son Nick and his nephew Demetrio, producing high quality Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz sourced from their 150 acres of vines set in the heart of the famed terra rossa soil. Zema is proudly independent and is one of the last outposts of hand-pruning in Coonawarra; they touch every vine by hand, shaping, nurturing and adjusting the canopy.

"Tight, fine and elegant Coonawarra cabernet and one of the region's best from 1999. It's wild and floral, with a penetrative minty fragrance of violets, blackberries and dark plums, while the palate is long and creamy, with intense fruit enhanced by sweet almost gamey fine-grained French oak."  Jeremy Oliver

The Zema Estate story

Expert reviews

"Tight, fine and elegant Coonawarra cabernet and one of the region's best from 1999. It's wild and floral, with a penetrative minty fragrance of violets, blackberries and dark plums, while the palate is long and creamy, with intense fruit enhanced by sweet almost gamey fine-grained French oak."  Jeremy Oliver – 93 points

"A typically elegant effort from Zema and a worthy follow-up to the fine '98. The aromas recall mint, cassis and Ribena, and it's a fruit driven wine all round. Clean, sweet-berry, mint and blackcurrant flavours continue in the mouth. It is well balanced and refined, with discreet powdery tannins."  2001-2002 Penguin Good Australian Wine Guide  ★★★★(★)

The beginnings

Founders Francesa and Demitrio Zema (Image captured in 2019)

Forged in Australia but born of a passionate Italian heritage, Zema is a brand that embodies two of the greatest things about wine – terroir and history.

Based in Coonawarra, South Australia, Zema was founded by Demetrio and Francesca Zema in the 1980s. From very humble beginnings, the Zemas worked tirelessly as a family to build the quality and reputation of their wines – resulting in the astonishing brand we are privileged to have today.

The attention to detail Zema implements is astonishing – hand pruning, careful fruit selection, meticulous viticulture, passionate winemaking, diligent bottle aging and a deep respect for the place and provenance of Coonawarra add up to give us clean, true and delicious Coonawarra reds that display a consistency that extends throughout vintages and seasonal fluctuations.

Zema is proudly independent, deriving its meaning and inspiration from the sense of trust, security and dependability that comes from family and the feeling that everything it does has been influenced by a rich legacy of stories and culture.

In order to understand this rich legacy that is weaved into the essence of every Zema wine, one must look to where it all started. In the early 1950’s Demetrio Zema and Francesca Zema began a love affair that would last not only more than fifty years but also across two continents. Soon after becoming engaged, the couple were separated as Francesca and her family departed Italy to escape the aftermath of war and to seize the opportunities that a strange and peaceful new country 'Australia' offered. At the time of Francesca’s departure, the young couple had an understanding that she would return to Italy for her marriage, once her family had settled in Australia.

Upon arriving in Coonawarra, Francesca’s family went about establishing a home, securing work and adapting to a new language and culture. Back in Italy, Demetrio who was impatiently awaiting his fiancée’s return, decided to travel to Australia to marry Francesca and to bring her home to Italy. After more than twelve months apart the couple were reunited in May 1959 and married in Penola in June that year. Francesca was reluctant to leave her family and convinced Demetrio to stay, at least in the short term and the couple settled in Penola.

Demetrio soon found work helping a local painter and after a short period established his own painting business. In March 1960 Demetrio and Francesca’s first son Matteo (Matt) was born and in 1966 Nicola (Nick) arrived. Demetrio worked hard, painting houses and buildings throughout the south east, with Francesca and later Nick and Matt often helping late at night, on weekends and wherever possible.

Demetrio gained a reputation as a meticulous painter and also a very engaging one, as there was always a good story to be told and one of his home-made wines to be shared. Whilst painting was the family’s livelihood, the passion for wine never diminished and their dream was to one day own a piece of Coonawarra’s famed terra rossa soil and create their own world class wines.

In 1982, the dream became a reality and the Zemas were able to purchase a block of beautiful mature vines in the heart of Coonawarra. Demetrio and Francesca Zema along with their sons made their first Coonawarra Shiraz in a tin shed, using a second-hand milk tanker as a fermenter. As luck had it, 1982 was an outstanding vintage and two years later the inaugural Zema Shiraz was a highlight of internationally acclaimed Expovin ’84.

The family moved into a small home nestled on the same lot as the vines and dedicated themselves wholeheartedly to establishing their new venture with assistance from their extended group of family and friends who rallied, helping out with planting new vines, hand pruning and picking.

To say Zema has flourished is an understatement. These wines – the culmination of years of dreaming, hard work and determination – have earned themselves a spot in the hearts and the cellars of some of the world’s best known wine critics. 

The above article titled 'Zema Estate: Marrying Italian Heritage with Australian Terroir' appeared in dnfinewine.co.nz

About the winery

"Outstanding winery regularly producing wines of exemplary quality and typicity. Will have at least two wines at 95 points or above, and have achieved a five-star rating for the previous two years… Zema is one of the last outposts of hand-pruning in Coonawarra, with members of the Zema family tending the vineyard set in the heart of Coonawarra’s terra rossa soil. Winemaking practices are straightforward; if ever there was an example of great wines being made in the vineyard, this is it."  James Halliday

What started as a love story in Calabria, Italy, became a 40-year obsession with Cabernet and Shiraz across the world. In 1957, Demetrio Zema followed his fiancée Francesca to Australia in search of something more.

"Australia was the land of opportunity for Mum and Dad," Nick Zema, co-founder and Director at Zema Estate said.

"All their hard work was to achieve one goal – to purchase a Coonawarra vineyard and establish wine under the Zema name."

In March 1982, their dream became a reality when the Zema family purchased 20 acres right in the heart of Coonawarra’s famed terra rossa – 8 acres of which were already planted with mature Shiraz vines.

Later that year, Demetrio and Francesca Zema with sons Matt and Nick, made their first Coonawarra Shiraz in a tin shed, using a second-hand milk tanker as a fermenter. As luck had it, 1982 was an outstanding vintage and two years later the inaugural Zema Shiraz was a highlight of internationally acclaimed Expovin '84.

When Scottish pioneer John Riddoch planted the first vineyard and orchards of his Coonawarra Fruit Colony in 1891, he made two recommendations to his growers: that they should only plant on the fertile terra rossa soil that extended north from the township of Penola and that they only plant Cabernet Sauvignon or Shiraz. Riddoch had already undertaken a number of trials of different soils and grape varieties and were confident this was the right recipe for the future success of the fledgling Coonawarra region.

When it came time to expand their vineyard, the Zema family saw no reason to depart from Riddoch’s recommendation and planted their remaining land with Cabernet Sauvignon. "Our whole business is built on these two great grape varieties; Cabernet – vibrant and rich with a great line of length, and Shiraz for a great mouthfeel and loads of flavour," said Nick Zema.

Zema Estate now has 150 acres of vines in three prime Coonawarra locations, all located on the famed terra rossa strip. Whilst taking great pride in their achievements, Nick says they haven’t lost sight of their original philosophies.

Today the Zema's continue to touch every vine by hand - shaping, nurturing and adjusting the canopy to achieve a balance of vigour, yield and quality. As Nick says, he still feels his grandfather looking over his shoulder every time he prunes a vine. Cropping levels and vine health are carefully managed through minimal irrigation, canopy care and attentive monitoring of pests and disease.

Winemaking at Zema is also a process of careful nurturing - rather than manipulation - of this premium fruit. The family learned from legendary Coonawarra winemaker Ken Ward that the best wines are made by thorough fruit selection and maintaining fastidious attention to detail. From harvesting to fermentation and maturation in the best French and American oak, all parcels are kept separate. This means when it comes time to classify and blend the individual parcels of wine, the winemaker has the ultimate palette to achieve the signature Zema style: generosity of flavour, outstanding varietal fruit definition, soft, fine grained tannins and persistent line and length.

After classifying and blending, every wine receives extended bottle maturation of up to four years before release - a rarity in the wine industry today. This traditional approach enables the wine to settle and integrate in the bottle and achieve the right balance of flavours and textures on release.