June 4 is this year’s WynnsDay, the major occasion when the best Wynns wines for 2025 are released. I was lucky enough to preview five of the best in mid April.

The quality was high. Nothing unusual there. The wines represent the best of their respective vintages from the famed terra rossa soils from the estate’s vineyards in the Coonawarra region of South Australia. Cumulatively they are history in a bottle.

All the wines were excellent but for me the highlight was the Wynns Michael Shiraz 2022 (RRP $150). It is named after the son of wine pioneer David Wynn. Grapes comes from the best vineyard sites in Coonawarra and the wine is only made in years when the best-quality fruit becomes available.

This edition offered ripe and rich fruit with soft tannins encased in a dark, almost brooding, intensity of aromas and flavours. Expect plums and black cherries, with hints of spice and licorice. Pleasure resplendent in a glass. It’s the kind of wine that can be enjoyed young but will reward cellaring if you have the patience.

The Wynns John Riddoch Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 honours the Scottish pioneer John Riddoch who arrived in the region in 1861 and sold land for planting vines from 1890. He also built the beautiful headquarters building where tastings are held. This wine retails for the same price as the Michael. It is very well made but I suggest it needs time to be appreciated.

I decanted my bottle for three hours before serving with a meal and it was still too tight for my palate, though my guests lauded it. I left a third of a bottle in the decanter and tried it 24 hours later with my wine friend Mark Fontana. It was superb with a pronounced peppermint aroma emerging from a mass of dark cherry flavours. The change after long decanting tells me this excellent wine needs time. It is no exaggeration to say this wine has become a legend in the Australian wine industry, as proved by tastings of a range of back vintages. The first edition was in 1982.

I had never encountered the Wynns Single Vineyard Childs Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 (RRP $80) before and it was a delightful meeting. Each year Wynns selects a premium parcel from a single vineyard to bottle as a feature wine.

The Childs vineyard was planted in 1969 so the vines are beautifully mature, just like this wine. Flavours of brambles and summer fruits lingered in my mouth for a delightful eternity, framed by superfine soft tannins. This is a wine I would drink any time of the day or year.

The Wynns Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 (RRP $45) has been made since 1954 and is one of the most reliable and approachable wines from the region. The tannins are soft and it tastes of plums and cherries with a touch of herbs.

Notes provided by Wynns say this wine was produced from only the top quality 20 to 25 per cent of fruit grown at the company’s terra rossa vineyards. Because of its history this wine remains one of Australia’s most collectable wines — a benchmark of Australian Cabernet Sauvignon. Terra rossa is explained in the video below.

The Black Label Messenger Chardonnay 2024 (RRP $45) was the only white in the release. The 2024 is the inaugural offering of a Black Label Messenger Chardonnay. The Messenger vineyard in the southern part of Coonawarra’s terra rossa strip was first planted with Chardonnay in 1993. Expect flavours of pears and white peaches in the glass with a touch of cashew, encased in a frame of citrus. A wine to drink now and over the next few years.

The Wynns Single Vineyard Cabernet Franc 2024 (RRP $80) was not available for tasting when I wrote this article. Winemakers Sue Hodder, Sarah Pidgeon and Chris Plummer, and viticulturist Ben Harris, deserve deep congratulations for yet another superb collection of wines.

In the video below, which I made in 2014, Wynns’ former chief viticulturist Allen Jenkins talks about growing cabernet sauvignon in Coonawarrra’s terra rossa (red) soils.

Disclosure: Wines tasted were gifted by Treasury Wines, owners of the Wynns estate.