Top 100 Wines Of 2025 | 94 Points - Nick Ryan
Balnaves of Coonawarra is a proudly family-owned winery nestled in the heart of South Australia’s famed Coonawarra region. Established in 1975, the Balnaves family has built a reputation for producing some of the region's finest wines, with a focus on Cabernet Sauvignon and other Bordeaux-inspired varieties.
Balnaves 'The Blend' consistently delivers superb value red wine drinking; with the 2020 vintage made up of Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, with a small amount of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Delivering loads of flavour, depth and impeccable balance, this again offer the superb value for money we've come to expect from this label.
"94 Points. The concept of “value” in wine can be a nebulous thing. There can be more of it in a bottle of real beauty costing hundreds than a magnum of woeful dishwater under 20 bucks. But here it’s quantifiable and undeniable. A classic blend of Bordeaux varieties from a region in which they excel. Tick. Born from some of Coonawarra’s best managed vineyards. Tick. Made with deftness and sensitivity by winemakers who understand intimately what makes Coonawarra special. Tick. Yours for less than the price of two schooners. Huge tick. $20. 14% alc"- Nick Ryan, Top 100 Wines Of 2025, The Weekend Australian, November 2025.
"93 Points. A blend of 67/26/4/3% cabernet sauvignon/ merlot/ petit verdot/ cabernet franc; matured in 18% new French oak for 12 months. This offers a medium-weight serve of black- and red-berried fruit flavour, though there are also plenty of leafier, more savoury aspects around the edges along with eucalypt and smoky oak notes. It's drinking well young, but it has all the sturdiness required to last well into the future. Balnaves always seems to over deliver on quality, and this is another example."- Campbell Mattinson, Halliday Wine Companion.
