JAMES HALLIDAY

During a decorated career spanning more than three decades, Patrick Tocaciu received international accolades while working as head winemaker for several major labels. His focus then switched to fulfilling a more personal goal with the establishment of the family owned and operated Patrick of Coonawarra in 2004.

Patrick’s eldest son, Luke, has now taken over the family business and continues to produce highly regarded wines from the famed Terra Rossa soils of Coonawarra. Only the highest quality fruit is utilised from their family owned and managed vineyards, ensuring an unwavering commitment to quality and delivering hand crafted wines with regionality and personality.

The guiding principle in both the vineyards and winery is that the most natural path from grape to glass will ultimately provide the best wine, and that the more natural solution to any challenge or issue gives the best chance of being able to produce wines well into the future.

All winery waste is composted on site, and wildlife plays a key part in the health of the vineyard: a flock of guinea fowl live amongst the vines all year round cleaning up any bugs and pests, sheep graze through the vineyard, eliminating herbicide and fertiliser use and cleaning up the grass under vine, and bees are kept around the property.

Native cover crops are grown to prevent erosion, suppress weeds and provide nutrition, and biological pest management is employed - such as wasps and beneficial bacteria application.

Patrick of Coonawarra enjoyed great success in the 2021 Halliday guide, picking up a 97 point review for their flagship wine, the Grande Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2012, and were also in the 'best of the best' reds list of just 26 wines (which included just eight Cabernets).

This is certainly among the finest Cabernet Sauvignon in the nation, and without question a contender for the best Cabernet Sauvignon from the Coonawarra region - especially when considering that the 2012 vintage has just been released, in peak condition, and is entering the first drinking window of it's long life.

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